Bubblegum Crisis: Half Moon
by Purple Knight Saber
Summary: It is the year 2057. 19-year-old Yumeko Asagiri is back on track with her life, and things heat up when the Knight Sabers get hired to recover, or destroy, the OMS. But what does the girl Yumeko has taken in have to do with it?
1. Just another day

Usual warning applies: if you haven't read the first two fics in this series, Next Gen and Farewell to Arms, GO READ THEM FIRST. Yumeko does refer to events that didn't happen in those stories, so you may also want to get familiar with the crossover "Three Knights," which is on the page in my profile. No, it's not done yet.

As was the case with finishing Next Gen, I didn't intend to write anything after FTA; I was hoping to be able to concentrate on 3K. But wouldn't you know it, before long I came up with this story, Half Moon. A bit of a jump here -- it takes place almost a full year after FTA ends -- but I think you'll be ok. Plus it's a one-shot! Written between January 2007 and January 2008. Rated M for some disturbing scenes later on.

* * *

It was a sweltering mid-July evening in MegaTokyo. Except for the occasional group of teenagers walking down this street in district 6, the streets were deserted, most people having either gone to bed or taken refuge inside their air-conditioned apartments.

The semi coming down the street didn't look out of the ordinary; it was white and unmarked, with several nondescript bumper stickers on the back. It inexplicably stopped in the middle of the street, a door on the side of the cargo area of the truck opening. A man was heard yelling, followed by a figure being shoved out. The unknown person lost her footing and fell to the asphalt as the semi pulled away in a hurry, as if the occupants had someplace to be. The teenagers who witnessed this took a look at the figure who'd been shoved from the truck, then just walked away, carrying on as usual.

The girl from the semi pushed herself to her feet, not bothering to wipe the dirt from her hands or knees. She appeared young, about fourteen or fifteen, with short, spiky copper-colored hair adorning her head. A long, thin ponytail sprouted from the back of her neck, coming down to her waist. She was only clad in an oversized, sleeveless tee, and green plaid boxer shorts.

A pair of yellow eyes looked up at the sky as lightning flashed, followed several seconds later by a rumble of thunder. The girl looked around for a moment, confused, before dashing into an alleyway to take shelter from the coming storm.

Get lost, and stay lost, the men who'd shoved her from the semi had said. It was the only way to keep anyone from knowing who she really was. The only way to stay safe from those who would use her for their own evil purposes. But she knew none of this. All she knew right now was that she was cold and had no place to sleep.

That was all she knew, until a red-eyed brunette, 19-year-old Yumeko Asagiri, found her.

* * *

"Bubblegum Crisis – Half Moon"

Written by Amanda Stair

* * *

"All right, that's good! Let's call it a day!" Linna yelled out, clapping her hands together once. "Good job, everyone! We'll see you all again on Tuesday."

I watched with amusement as the group of leotard-clad girls in front of Linna and me all went for their duffel bags and bottles of water and headed for the locker room, several of them grumbling about how they would never get used to the new girl coaching them.

Who was the new girl they were talking about? Me, of course.

I'd finally went and gotten a job, a real job, although if I could have lived off being a gymnast, I would have. But everyone had said I needed to know what the so-called 9-to-5 grind was all about. Working alongside Linna at her gym, leading workouts and giving tai chi and gymnastics lessons seemed like the only kind of job I'd want; Lord knew what would happen if you tried to stick me behind a desk all day, crunching numbers or some shit like that. Hell would freeze over before anyone could make me an OL!

Getting an armful of medals at the Olympics definitely seemed to give me a boost in the career department. Linna said that ever since word got out about me working at her gym, membership practically doubled. I think she was being sarcastic, but comparing the crowds from several years ago to now, maybe she did have a point. The smell of sweat in the air definitely was more pungent than before, and despite my well-known reputation as a girl of ice when doing her routines, the newer members still complained about my hard-ass way of going about things. But that was how I was. That was how Linna had been when she began training me as a ten-year-old, and despite my incessant complaining back then, I knew with the benefit of hindsight that that was really the only way to go if you truly wanted to be the best. Now, most of the women and girls here weren't looking to be world-level gymnasts. They just wanted to keep in shape. But if they wanted to stay in shape, I was the one to make them keep at it.

"You'd think I had a whip in my hand, the way some of them look at me," I laughed as I took a sip from my water bottle.

"You ARE pretty hard on them," Linna admitted.

"A workout isn't supposed to be something you just go at half-assed and daydreaming," I lamented, tossing a towel over my shoulder as we followed the others to the locker room. "I just wish some of them would take it more seriously."

"That's why you're here, to make them take it more seriously."

"I've been here six months. The girls who've been here since then know what I'm all about. The others are a little slower to pick up on it."

"Or quit," she joked. "Some people just don't prefer their exercise routine to be like boot camp."

"They don't like to feel the burn. They think going through the motions is supposed to be enough. It's just damn frustrating."

"I know, but you'll always get people like that, Yumeko. And remember, there's a fine line between respect and fear."

"They're not afraid of me," I protested. "I'm hard on them, but I'm not overbearing."

"Look at yourself on tape sometime," she laughed, pulling off her headband, followed by her top. "Let's hit the showers, ok? I'm beat."

"Same here."

After we took our showers and changed into our regular clothes, I helped Linna close up the gym, then sterilize the exercise mats and go over some paperwork, making sure all the bills were paid and all that crap. I usually got to the gym at 10 AM and left at six, but if I decided to stay and help Linna out with the extra stuff, sometimes I wouldn't get to leave till eight or so. This went on five, sometimes six days a week, depending on what she scheduled me for. Gymnastics wasn't just a hobby for me anymore; now it really WAS a job. But I didn't mind it. This made it a lot easier for myself to stay in shape as well.

I'd been in several competitions since the Olympics, and the 2057 Japan National Gymnastics Championships had just been last week. Once again, I'd gotten medals, but only two this time: one for the uneven bars, and one for vault. I hadn't placed on the beam or on floor, which was surprising, considering that I had gotten the gold on floor the year before in Nairobi. Two medals…and neither were gold. My medal for the bars was silver, the one for vault, bronze. I frowned to myself as I walked across the street to a neighborhood bar to unwind for a little bit before heading home. I wasn't used to not getting gold. It was an uneasy feeling that was spreading in my gut. My leg wasn't starting to let me down, was it? Was I getting lazy in my workouts somewhere? The thoughts darted around in my head, colliding and making my head hurt as a result as I sat down at the bar and ordered a beer. I'd come a long way with my leg since it had been shot through almost two and a half years prior. I knew I should've been happy that I was able to walk again at all, let alone get to the Olympics and win medals. I should have been grateful.

But to think that my leg might be starting to deteriorate… No. I refused to let myself think about that. As long as I could do what I loved, it didn't matter. I'd gone through far too much to let myself think that way, to start to feel sorry for myself and go into a downward spiral like I had the year before. If two guys hadn't come into my life and helped me when I hit rock bottom, show me where I'd gone wrong so badly…who knew what might have happened. Only thing I knew for sure was that if I hadn't met them, I probably would've been dead in a matter of months, from an OD or another self-inflicted stab wound, at the tender age of eighteen.

I was nineteen now. I'd just had my birthday last month. Adults always said that at eighteen or nineteen, life is just beginning, that you haven't even begun to experience what it's like. Life, love, finding your own person, who you really are.

Well, they weren't Knight Sabers.

Since I was sixteen, I had been leading two lives: one as a student at Kihi Senior High and one of the top gymnasts in the country, if not the world; and one as the purple Knight Saber. Until the summit in March '55, I'd managed to keep them at least somewhat exclusive. But an attack on the convention center by two powerful, souped-up Boomers changed all that. The old me died that night, lost in a hellish trial by fire, the new me waking up five days later, wounded, no memory of the event. Over time, those memories came back, piece by piece, as I slowly recovered and learned to walk again. I never did manage to remember everything that happened that night, but as far as I, Mom, and the others were concerned, I remembered all I needed to. It was probably for the best that I didn't remember the actual explosion when the second Boomer had targeted the place with a beam satellite.

But still…what I did remember had almost driven me insane. Panic attacks, the occasional blackout, the paranoia that someone was watching me – although that had, in the end, turned out to be true – and losing Michiko in the process. Trying to put it all behind me in Sacramento, when I was in fact only repressing it all, and then getting addicted to hydromorphone in my own form of coping... It almost destroyed me. The lingering guilt over Michiko, my anger at Genom and Boh and anyone who'd wanted me dead…it had almost swallowed me whole, and only after I'd tried to kill myself and blacked out on Bert had I realized what I was going to lose if I'd kept going on the path I was taking. And then, for him and Craig to discover me stealing painkillers from Sylia's mini-pharmacy…that was the final straw. Even before then, I had admitted I needed help, but I hadn't wanted to admit I was an addict. If they hadn't discovered me, I probably could have kept going, my addiction getting worse until… No. It didn't happen. I had gotten help, once I returned home and admitted to Mom that I was addicted. I had my life back now.

Did my leg still hurt? Hell yeah, when it was rainy or snowy outside. But thanks to the help I'd gotten, I knew that I didn't need to resort to morphine to help with that. If it bugged me, I could just go get acupuncture done, or get a massage, and if it still hurt afterward, usually a couple ibuprofen helped out.

I grunted to myself as I took a sip of my beer, half-listening to the baseball game on the TV in the corner of the bar. I couldn't really complain. I DID still have my leg, even though it wasn't as great as I wanted it to be. Maybe I HAD gotten lazy, and that was why I'd only gotten two medals at Nationals and no invitation to Worlds this year. All I could do was shrug it off and try harder for the next competition. Nothing I could do about it now, bitch as I might.

"You're quiet today," the bartender observed, wiping the inside of a mug with a rag.

"Long day," I said with a shrug.

"What's the leg say? Is it gonna rain?"

"Yup. Started aching just before I left the gym. Shouldn't be long now."

"No karaoke then, huh?"

I smirked. "Not tonight. Maybe this weekend if I'm feeling feisty. And if I hear another comment about how I should follow in my mom's footsteps, you're gonna be singing soprano."

"I wasn't gonna say nothin'," he protested innocently.

"Sure," I teased, taking another pull from my beer. That was one thing I'd taken with me when I left California: a newfound love for karaoke. Most of the time, whenever I stopped by here on my way home from work, I'd do a round or two. Most people wanted me to do my mom's songs, and I sometimes relented and did, but I didn't like being compared to her. I may have been her daughter, but I was no singer. That was her thing. Gymnastics was mine. End of story.

Once I polished off my beer, I paid the bartender, bid farewell until the next time, and left, pulling on my helmet, getting on my bike, and taking off down the street. I couldn't help but smile every time I realized I had my own place now. I still lived in district 6, only a short distance from Mom's apartment, actually, but after I finished my 'treatment' for my addiction it was decided I needed a place of my own, especially since I had just gotten a job at Linna's gym. It was one way, Sylia said, for me to learn to take some responsibility…not to mention that arguments with Mom after my treatment had almost made me relapse. It was nice, having a place of my own to go to. Sharing a bedroom with Mom never did afford me much privacy, and after having had a bedroom of my own in Sacramento for the better part of a year, I admit I'd been spoiled. And now I had more than just a bedroom to myself. It was similar to Mom's apartment, with one bedroom, a small bathroom, and another room that basically had a kitchen on one half and a living room on the other half. Small, but it was all mine. And I was happy to have it, even if I did have to use almost half of my paycheck for rent.

It was dark by the time I pulled into the parking lot by my apartment building and climbed off, pulling off my helmet and shaking out my hair, although it was tied in a braid. I'd been growing it out since my return home, and instead of being just past my shoulders like I'd always had it, now it was almost down to the middle of my back. At this length, it was just easier to keep it in a braid or ponytail. I guess I was just too lazy to go get it cut, although part of me was curious to see how long I could let it grow before I went insane and finally got off my ass to REALLY go get it cut. But right now I was alright with it as it was.

It wasn't until I went upstairs to my apartment that I realized I hadn't grabbed anything for dinner yet. Remembering there was a little place down the street within walking distance I could stop by, I set down my helmet and turned and left, locking the door and jogging down the stairs and out of the building, just in time for it to start raining, as my leg had told me earlier. I wiped my bangs from my eyes as I walked down the street, seeing the shop I was looking for approaching on my right. I grinned and licked my lips, anticipating the shrimp tempura I'd soon be devouring.

Passing by an alleyway, a flash of color caught my eye. I turned my head and looked down, bending down to get a closer look at what it was that had gotten my attention.

The flash of color had been hair, an orangish-copper color. It was spiky, with a long ponytail trailing down the owner's back. I blinked; owner? No…this was a girl! I was looking at a girl!

The copper-haired girl looked up at me, blinking in confusion as a pair of yellow eyes stared at me. It was apparent she hadn't been out here for very long; she still looked relatively clean, although she was drenched and shivering. She was only clad in an oversized sleeveless T-shirt and green plaid boxer shorts. She had on no shoes and no socks.

"Maybe running away in your pajamas wasn't a good idea," I pointed out, trying to make a joke.

She hugged her knees, pulling them closer to her as she shivered.

I crouched down on my knees. "Do you understand me? Do you speak Japanese?" She nodded. "Good. So what're you doing out here? It's cold without a jacket or shoes."

"They told me to get lost," she said in a small voice.

"Who did?"

"The men in the truck. They pushed me out and told me to get lost."

I frowned to myself. "Were you kidnapped?"

"I don't know," she said. "I don't remember anything, only waking up in the truck and then the men pushing me out into the street."

"Do you remember your name?"

"One man called me Emi."

"Ok, Emi," I said, "I was just getting something to eat. Would you like anything?" She nodded. "Ok. I'll go get something, and then I'll take you to my place so you can get dried off. How long have you been out here?"

"Not long. I was pushed out just before it started raining."

"Good. I'll be back, ok? Just sit tight."

No longer going at a leisurely pace, I headed to the shop as fast as I could and ordered shrimp tempura for myself and a bowl of udon for Emi. She needed to get something warm in her. Once the food was done, I paid and ran back to the alley, with Emi still in the same position as before.

"Here," I said, handing her the bag with the bowl of udon in it. "This is yours. I'm gonna take you to my place now, ok? Just follow me."

"This is mine?" she asked, hugging it to her body to warm herself up.

"Yes, that's what I said. Now come on. I bet you're starving."

After giving her my jacket, we both headed down the street together, back to my apartment building. Once we were inside, I let her sit at the kitchen table and gave her a towel to dry herself off with. She did so, rubbing her head with one hand while scooping up the noodles with the chopsticks in the other hand.

"Once you're done eating," I suggested, "go take a shower. At least that water is hot. And I'll give you some of my clothes for now. They might be too big, but we can go shopping tomorrow and I'll get you some that fit. On second thought, Nene's about your size. We can go to her place and borrow some of her clothes."

"Who's Nene?" she asked.

"My aunt. Well, not really my aunt, she's a friend of my mom's. And maybe she can help me figure out what to do with you."

"What to do with me?"

"Yeah. Somebody must've reported you missing. And you obviously have amnesia, so you can't tell me where you came from. But right now I guess we should just get you cleaned up, warmed up, and get some sleep before we do any of that."

"What's your name?" she asked. "You didn't tell me your name."

"Oh, I guess I didn't, did I? I'm Yumeko."

"I'm Emi."

I laughed. "You told me already."

"Are you going to tell me to get lost too?" she asked, looking worried.

"No," I assured her. "I'm gonna help you find your home. Don't worry."

* * *

The next morning, after I'd fixed up both of us some breakfast and got her dressed, Emi and I headed off for Nene's place, me lending my bike helmet to Emi. She still couldn't remember anything, which puzzled me; as far as I knew, only soap opera characters could have such complete amnesia. I'd hoped that she might've recovered some sort of memories overnight, but when she got up, she was still as oblivious as she'd been the night before. I was hesitant to just drop her off at a hospital and let the people there deal with her; she needed personal help, not people to shuffle her around.

"Sooo…you need help finding out who she is?" Nene asked as we walked in, trying to make certain of my request.

"Yeah. I don't even know if her real name is Emi. Could've just been something those guys called her off the top of their heads."

Nene eyed Emi for a moment, who was thumbing through some of the magazines on the coffee table. "What do you say? I'd peg her at about fourteen."

"I'd say thirteen," I said. "Fifteen at the oldest."

"Alright. I'll do a search on the computer and see what comes up in the missing-persons file. But you know, if she's disappeared in the last three days she won't come up in the system. Can't file a report until then."

"I know," I retorted. "But somebody needs to help her."

Nene sighed and sat down at her desk, her fingers flying as she opened up a server and typed in the necessary information for her search. Meanwhile, I sat down on the couch next to Emi, peeking over her shoulder to see what she was reading.

"Oh no, that's a computer magazine," I groaned. "Pick something better. Here." I handed her a gossip magazine. "Anything but that mumbo-jumbo."

"But I don't want to read that," she replied.

"What kind of teenager are you?!" I remarked. "You don't want to read the latest on who's divorcing, who's hooking up, the scandals on the sets of the latest TV shows?"

"Not really."

"You ARE weird."

Nene laughed to herself from her chair, not taking her eyes off the computer screen. "Yumeko, if she doesn't remember anything, of course she's not going to be familiar with any of that! Besides, with you being Priss' daughter, I thought the last thing you'd be interested in is celebrity gossip."

"I'm not, but normal teenagers aren't future hackers in the making," I said, motioning to Emi, who was still absorbed in her computer magazine.

She sighed. "I'm not finding anyone matching Emi's description. You know, she could just be a runaway."

"You can't be a runaway if somebody ditched you from a truck!" I snapped.

"How do we know that man wasn't her father?" she queried.

"There was more than one man," Emi spoke up. "I don't really recall what they look like, though. They just wanted me gone."

"What exactly did they say?"

"'Get out of here, brat. Get lost. Go on.' That's all he said."

"When did the one man call you Emi?"

"When I first woke up. I opened my eyes and looked up, and there was a man standing over me. He said, 'Oh, you're awake, Emi. 'Bout time.' Then a minute or so later, the truck stopped and he and the other men shoved me out."

Nene stood up and walked over to us on the couch, sitting down on the other side of Emi. She started separating her hair, as if looking for something. "Did you hit your head or suffer any other injuries, Emi?" she asked.

"No. Nothing hurts."

"She didn't have any bruises," I said. "Had a couple scratches on her hands and knees though, probably from getting shoved out of the truck."

Nene frowned to herself, continuing to examine Emi's head. "Being under extreme stress can sometimes cause a person to lose their memory completely, but that's extremely rare. And it looks like she doesn't have any head injuries, so I'm not sure what else to think."

"What do we do, then?"

"I'd normally recommend you take her to a hospital so the people there can take care of her. But right now, it looks like what she needs is some normalcy. As far as she knows, you're her family. It might be best for her to stay with you for now, until we find some more information about her."

I nodded. "That was my thinking too. She doesn't need to get shuffled between doctors who see her as just another patient." I motioned towards her clothes. "I had to lend her some of my clothes, but you're closer to her size, so I thought we might be able to borrow some of yours for her to use."

Nene cleared her throat. "Well, I…I'm in my forties, in case you forgot," she said dryly with a small laugh. "You might want to take her to the mall or something for some more age-appropriate things. And what's wrong with her using your clothes?"

"In case you didn't notice," I said, giving her an arched look, "I'm five-foot-four. Emi here is probably four-foot-nine, tops. I had to give her a belt with those shorts just to keep 'em up. And, uh, my chest is bigger too, so my tops are too big, too."

"Do you need money to go buy her clothes? I could lend you some," she suggested.

I smiled shyly. "Yeah. My paycheck's only big enough for one person. I can't afford clothes shopping for another!"

"Well, as long as you don't dress her in short-shorts and bikini tops, I trust your taste in clothing," she teased.

"I think she can choose her own clothing."

"Yes, I can choose," Emi agreed. "Yumeko will help me."

"Yeah, I'll help. Of course."

"Are you going to get bikini tops?" she asked innocently.

"Me? No," I said, smirking, more in Nene's direction than hers. "I did wear something like that before I got my scars, but since I have them, I don't wear them anymore."

"Scars? On your stomach?"

"Yeah." I lifted up my shirt to show her.

Emi's eyes widened as she craned her upper body for a closer look. "What happened to make you get those?"

"Close contact with sharp objects," I said cheekily, lowering the shirt. "Don't worry, I got them a long time ago."

"Did it hurt?"

"Yeah, it did." I noticed Nene giving me a look warning me not to say too much, but I went on and added, "But they're all healed up now. The long one's my favorite."

"Why is it your favorite?"

"'Cause it looks cool," I chuckled. "Gives me personality, though I think Aunt Nene here might say I have more than enough of that to go around."

"You sure do," she agreed.

"Are you gonna keep looking for stuff on her?" I asked.

"Sure, but you know, she can't stay with you forever. As you said, your income can't support two people."

"She'll stay with me as long as she has to. And if it's for longer than I thought, then I'll make HER get a job."

"What kind of job can I do?" Emi asked.

"You're young, so legally you can't do a lot, but you could probably walk dogs or babysit or something."

"There's Boomers for those," Nene pointed out.

"Not everyone likes it that way though," I grumbled. "I'm sure somebody out there would prefer a human."

"I'll help you, Yumeko!" Emi promised. "I don't want to put you out!"

"I'd rather you put me out than go back out onto the street. You'll get killed out there. Someone's gotta look out for you." I dismissed her with a wave of my hand. "I'll do what I can. But first things first, you need some clothes."

Nene started typing on her computer again. "I'll transfer 40,000 yen to your account so you can get her some clothes and such. And don't worry about paying me back. I can spare it."

"That's too much," I protested.

"No it's not!" she laughed. "Have you seen how expensive clothing is nowadays? It's crazy! Now go, and I'll let you know if I find anything worth following up on."

"All right, all right." I ushered Emi towards the door. "Thanks, Nene."

Once we said our byes, we left and headed down to the main floor on the elevator. As we exited the main doors and headed into the parking lot towards my motorcycle, Emi commented, "She seems like a nice lady."

"She is. She's nice to a fault."

"Can I call her Aunt Nene too?"

"No. You can call her Miss."

"Miss Nene? Okay."

"Y'know, you're really…what's the word…permissive, accepting about some things," I sighed. "I'm gonna have to teach you some street smarts."

"What do you mean?"

"How to listen to intuition, why men are the scum of the earth and should never be trusted, and probably self-defense lessons would be a good idea too."

"What about men?" she repeated. "Why are they the scum of the earth?"

"I HATE men," I growled. "I'll give you the 'why' later. But simply put, except for a few rare exceptions, they're bastards. ALL of them. It's time you learned that straight away."

* * *

The obvious first choice to go to get Emi some undergarments would have been the Silky Doll. However, I wanted enough money left over from what Nene had given me to be able to buy Emi more than two or three outfits, as the bras and stuff there were definitely on the more expensive side. So instead, we took the subway to the Geo City Mall. At the lingerie store there I got Emi measured, then bought a couple bras and about ten pairs of underwear – you can never have enough of those, I guess – and followed that up with visits to all the clothing stores we could find.

I quickly learned Emi liked to keep her clothes simple. She didn't like any sort of design on her shirts or quirky sayings; she just liked her shirts either one solid color, or with horizontal stripes. One time-consuming aspect of this was that once she found a shirt she liked, she had to try it on in every single color available. The same went for her jeans; every color available, and also kept simple, no bellbottoms or skinny jeans, just a classic cut. We ended up getting her eight shirts and three pairs of jeans, and after a similar amount of time in the shoe department, she got a pair of basic white tennis shoes, and a pair of sandals with a flower decoration on the top.

"Are you sure those aren't heavy?" I laughed, looking at her. With all the bags Emi was carrying, one might've thought she was ready to topple over. But she walked with as steady a stride as ever, like the bulk of the bags didn't bother her at all.

"They're alright," she replied.

"I can carry some of those, y'know."

"But you bought them for me. The least I can do is handle them myself."

"Are you sure? My hands are both free if you need help."

"I'm ok," she said with an innocent smile I was quickly growing accustomed to. How could someone ditch a girl like that into the street by herself? The answer was simple enough: a bastard. Only a bastard would try to hurt a girl like that. Of that, I was convinced.

"This would be a good first lesson in being aware," I pointed out, pointing at her bag-clad arms. "Right now, you would make a perfect target for a predator. Both arms are used up right now, so if someone were to sneak up on you and attack, you wouldn't be able to defend yourself. So here, give me some of those bags so you have one arm free."

She took in my words for a moment, then handed me the three bags on her right arm. "Good. That's better. Another thing to remember is that you need to have your keys out before you're at the door. That's another time for predators to strike, when a girl is fumbling through her purse for the keys."

"But I don't have any keys."

"My point still stands. Also, if you're walking somewhere by yourself, make sure to take a look around every once in a while. That's to make sure that no one is following you. If they're aware you know they're behind you, they won't be able to make a move. They prefer to attack those who are unaware."

"Why would people attack other people?" she asked.

"Who knows. Robbery, rape, sometimes even murder just for the sake of murder."

"Is that how you got your scars? From being attacked?"

I grimaced to myself. "…Something like that," I said slowly. "But it's not something I want to talk about, especially here."

"Okay. Can you tell me why you hate men, then? You said you would explain it to me later."

"Let's get to the subway station," I suggested. "I'll tell you while we're waiting for the subway."

We went down to the bottom floor of the mall, which essentially was the subway station itself. It was crowded with people, as usual, but I motioned for Emi to follow me to a spot under the stairs, where nobody was really hanging out at.

"Why do you hate men?" she asked again.

"They're bastards," I said without hesitation. "Just about all the men I've met in my life are after one thing, and the fact that I refuse to put out just gets them riled up to try again. They like the challenge, I guess. I've been fending them off since I grew tits, which means I was…about thirteen, I guess."

"How old are you now?"

"Nineteen."

"Six years? But surely if you said no, they would take the hint."

"They're men. They never take a hint," I grumbled. "They think a woman'll eventually get tired of saying no and just say yes just to get the guy to leave her alone, but I'm not like that. If they keep asking, I'll shove my 'no' in their face…or their balls if shoving it in their face isn't direct enough."

She winced at the imagery. "Do they get it then?"

"Sometimes. But other times it'll just get them pissed off. And if you're not careful, that's when the shit really can hit the fan."

"What does that mean?"

"It means someone's gonna get beat to a pulp: the guy or the girl. Usually it's the girl who ends up in the hospital, getting a rape kit done, while the guy disappears and never gets caught."

"Has it ever gone that far with you?"

I sighed and sat down, Emi taking a seat next to me. "Don't repeat this to anyone, ok?"

"I won't."

"It's…it's gotten close," I said, letting out another sigh. "Twice I've come close to being raped. Didn't happen, but it was still too close for comfort. The first time, I was depressed and accidentally got drunk on some vodka-spiked punch. The guy hosting the party took me upstairs and tried to seduce me. I was down to my underwear by the time I came to my senses and beat the shit out of him." I hadn't exactly come to my senses – I'd actually had a blackout, but I was loath to try to explain those to Emi – but it was as close to the truth as I could get right now. "I don't really remember it, but…but it bothered me for a long time. I didn't even tell my mom about it until much later."

"What about the second time?"

Again, I couldn't tell the truth, so I had to come up with something close to it. "…Some friends and I had gotten into an argument, and I ran out of the building and went to a bar to unwind and get ahold of myself. Some guys in that bar had other ideas, though, and they started to hit on me, like the usual bastards do. But as I tried to fend them off, they all attacked me at once…" I closed my eyes and inwardly cringed at the memory. "They held me down on the floor while the main bastard stuck his hands up my shirt and tried to pull my shorts down. One of my friends intervened at the last moment, though, and shot him in the leg…"

Emi drew in a sharp breath. "Oh my God…that's terrible. But you were okay?"

"Physically yeah. Mentally I couldn't believe it happened again. I felt violated all over again. I told that friend not to tell the other friend what happened, because I was afraid he'd overreact. It was just…a personal matter to me. I didn't like anyone knowing those things about me."

"These friends…were they men too?"

"Yes, and they were the grand exception to the rule. They were great guys…and I fell in love with one of them, the one who saved me that day, actually, though I'd started to crush on him earlier. Once I told him how I felt – this was later – he admitted he'd felt the same way towards me, and we dated for a while."

"Are you still dating?"

I shook my head. "He, uh…he was only in town on business, and eventually he had to go home. We try to keep in touch, but it's hard." All of that was a lie, and as much as I wanted to keep in touch, aside from a certain old man, I didn't know of any interdimensional airline carriers to take my letters to him. I wondered…did Craig ever think of me? Or was he too busy with his own affairs back in his world? I knew I'd never see him again, but every now and then I had a sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe…

"Yumeko? You're spacing out."

"Huh? Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about him…"

"You miss him, don't you?"

"Yes. I do." I nodded and stood up. "I do…"

Emi offered me a kind smile as we went to the subway platform to wait for our train. "Do you have pictures of him?"

"I have one with me, actually." I set down the bags, dug out my wallet, and pulled out a picture of me with everyone else I hung out with in the other world. "That's him," I said, pointing out the brown-haired man standing between me and Sylvie.

"What's his name?"

"Craig."

Emi took the picture in her free hand and stared at it for a moment, taking in everyone's faces. "Everyone looks so happy," she said wistfully. "You look happy and sad at the same time, though."

"That was a rough time in my life," I said, taking the picture and putting it back in my wallet. "I can honestly say that if it weren't for them, I wouldn't be here. I thank them every day for coming into my life when they did."

"Maybe you can all have a get-together sometime," she suggested. "A reunion."

"Not as easy as it sounds," I warned, though I found myself smiling at the thought. "But I would love that." I looked down the tunnel as I heard the screeching of the train wheels against the tracks. "Here comes our train! Stand back!"

* * *

It was only 8:30 in the evening when we finally got back to my apartment, but I was pooped. I was ready to turn in early, but I still needed to grab something to eat for a quick dinner and take a shower. After digging through the fridge, I grabbed some turkey, lettuce, and cucumbers and slapped them together between two slices of bread.

"Want me to make you one?" I asked Emi between bites. "Or do you want something else?"

She bent down and took a look at what the fridge had to offer before taking out an egg from its carton. "I think I'll have one of these," she replied.

"An egg sandwich? Okay. Do you need help making it?"

The look she gave me told me she indeed did. My eyebrow twitched in annoyance, then I sighed. "Ok, it's fairly easy," I explained. "You heat up one of the burners on the stove, then crack the egg into the pan, and when the underside is cooked, you flip the egg over with a spatula, and when that side's done, you put the egg between two slices of bread and eat. Think you can manage that?"

"Sure," she nodded, beaming. "That sounds easy. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to eat my sandwich and see what's on the news first before I go take my shower. If you need any help, just holler."

"Ok!"

I took my sandwich into the living room and sat down on the couch, turning on the TV. After flipping it to a news station, I munched on my sandwich some more, listening to the usual stories about gridlock on the Bayshore Highway, how the crime rate rose another five percent in the last year, and Boomer problems. I smirked to myself at the last one. _Dontcha think we're working on that?_, I laughed to myself in my head as I took another bite of my sandwich.

The smell of a cooking egg reached my nostrils at the same time the noise of a ringing telephone got to my ears. I stood up, sandwich still in hand, and picked up the receiver. "Hello?" I said, only to be greeted with a familiar face on the monitor. A raven-haired, shades-wearing girl, yawning lazily. "Xania!!" I exclaimed, quickly switching to English. "Isn't it the middle of the night there?! How are you?"

"I'm doin' ok," she said, yawning again. "And yeah, it's late, or early, depending on how ya look at it. But that's alright, I couldn't sleep anyway. How're things over there?"

"Oh, I'm still slaving away at Linna's gym," I joked. "Gotta pay the rent somehow. And I took in this girl last night also. Her name's Emi, and I just found her in an alley near here. Some guys had just dumped her off, and I felt sorry for her, so I'm letting her stay here for a while until I can find something out about her."

Xania frowned to herself and held her chin in between her thumb and forefinger. "Uh, what about her parents?"

"That's the thing. She has no memory of anything. Farthest back she can remember is waking up in the truck she was dumped from."

"Amnesic, huh? That's just super," she said dryly. "I don't know the laws there, Rosho, but I'm pretty sure what you're doin' is kidnapping."

I sighed and scratched the side of my head; even a year after she could've stopped calling me by my California nickname, she still kept at it. Talk about old habits dying hard. "I call it being a good Samaritan," I said with a crooked grin. "I couldn't just leave her. She'd have been killed before too long. And don't talk to me about hospitals. I already went over that with Nene."

"Hey, I agree with ya," she said, nodding, "but I'm learnin' all sorts of stuff bein' in college for this social worker shit, and this is what the law says. I've gotta know this stuff cold by the time I graduate."

"That's not for three more years."

"Yeah, but I've gotta start memorizin' it now." She huffed. "Did I tell ya what I'm doin' right now?"

"No. What are you doing?" I asked, curious.

"I'm trackin' down my parents. I'm in San Jose right now readin' up on their files before I head to the prison to pay a little visit."

I almost dropped the receiver in response. For the longest time, Xania had been adamant about never wanting to see her parents again, that they were dead to her. Why would she want to see them again now, ten years after she'd been taken out of that house? Closure? No, closure was a myth, or so it was said, but…

"Seriously?" I finally stuttered. "You're…you're really gonna go see them?"

"Yup," she nodded, her face the picture of determination. "I just want to ask them somethin' before I toss them out of my life for good. The 'why.' That's been buggin' me for the last…shit…last ten years now. I know I probably won't get the answer I want, but I want to at least hear their side of things."

"But you never wanted to hear it before," I pointed out. "Why now?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I don't—"

A scream from the kitchen interrupted us. I spun around and jumped out of my chair when I saw flames erupting from the stove, Emi holding the pan in mid-air by the handle with both hands. "EMI!!" I yelled, running towards her. "What the hell did you do?!"

She shrieked again, and I took the pan from her and practically threw it in the sink. Turning on the faucet, I cranked it up to full blast, letting cold water run over the now-burnt pan and egg as I turned off the stove and threw baking soda over the flames to extinguish them.

"What happened?!" I snapped.

"I'm sorry," she said meekly, eyes watering as she pulled her hands away from her mouth. "I only turned away for a second to look for the spatula, and suddenly the pan caught fire."

"You need to have everything out before you start cooking," I sighed, exasperated. "How about you just have a regular cold sandwich, ok?"

She nodded quickly. "Okay. I'm sorry."

"I heard you the first time. That was my fault. From now on I'll show you how to cook stuff, ok?"

Emi just nodded again as I let out another loud sigh and went back to the phone. "Sorry," I apologized.

"What was that?" Xania chuckled. "What DID she do?"

"Oh, you understood that?"

"W'll, duh. I did take a first-year Japanese course. If I didn't understand what _'Ittai nani o shita?!'_ meant, the teacher would shoot me!" she laughed, quoting what I had yelled in Japanese to Emi.

"Nice to know I had some sort of good influence on you," I said, managing a chuckle of my own, trying to get my heart settled back in my chest. It had practically leaped out of my throat at the sight of the flames in the kitchen. "Did you memorize the kana alright?"

"Yup. The kanji are hard too, but I guess I just gotta practice. The teacher said I'm one of the best students in the class, and that she's looking forward to seeing me in the second-year class next month."

I smiled. "Well, that's great, Xania. You should be proud."

"How would you say that in Japanese? The lookin' forward to next month thing? I know the _tanoshimi ni shiteiru_ part, but what about the rest?"

I grinned; some things never changed. "Let's see…it'd go something like _raigatsu ni wa ni-nen no jugyoo ni Xania-san o miru no wa tanoshimi ni shiteimasu._ But if she said 'August' instead of 'next month,' you'd replace the _raigatsu_ with _hachigatsu_."

"Gotcha." She paused to yawn again. "Damn, I need to get back to bed."

"Yes, you should. I know how you like your sleep," I teased. "Let me know how things go with your parents, ok?"

She grunted, but nodded. "I will. I'll call ya in a couple days, ok?"

"Ok. See ya later."

"See ya. Bye."

I hung up and turned my attention back to Emi, who had managed to make her own turkey sandwich without destroying the refrigerator. I showed her how to let the pan soak for a while since she had burned it, then told her she was free to watch TV while I took my shower.

"Think you can keep the place intact while I'm in there?" I joked.

She nodded. "Yes," she mumbled.

"Emi, it's ok. I'm not much of a cook myself. I've burned things too, everyone does. You should see my mom when she attempts anything more complicated than bacon and eggs!"

"You'll show me next time?"

"Yes, and every time. It just takes practice. I'll be out in a bit."

Once I was in the shower, I sat down and hugged my knees, letting the water pour over me as I thought. There was definitely more to this than met the eye. Why would a group of men just ditch an amnesic girl in the street and tell her to get lost? How had she lost her memory to begin with? How did they know her name, if that was her real name? And how the hell did she stay so happy and hopeful through it all? Emi was definitely stronger than her looks would lead one to believe, and yet something about this whole situation just reeked.

_Damn, I have to work tomorrow,_ I thought. _After work I'll ask Nene for her help again. There's no way a girl could've just gone off radar like that, even if this is Tokyo. Somebody must be looking for her._

* * *

"You have to go to work?" Emi said the next morning, struggling to fasten her bra.

"Yeah. Money doesn't just come falling down from the sky," I quipped. "I don't like mooching off my aunts or my mom. They've done enough for me."

"Can I go with you?"

"Unless you want to do Spinning classes all day, I don't think it's a good idea." Aside from that, which was completely true, I hadn't had a moment to myself since I'd taken her in. I had to have some space, although I didn't like the fact that going to work seemed like the only way to do so. Still, part of me was worried about leaving her alone in my apartment all day, the least of which was her potential to burn down the apartment with her cooking.

She finally figured out the clasps on her bra, and once she had that on, she quickly found the shirt she was looking for and pulled it over her head. "Yumeko, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

She nodded towards my leg, as I was about to pull my sleeve on. "What happened to your leg?"

I looked down at the large pink scar on my thigh. Despite the fact that my long stomach one was my favorite and that I'd gotten that one and this one only minutes apart, my leg scar was my least favorite. It was ugly, and I had a matching one on the other side, but that was only part of it. I had recovered from my stomach wound in a fairly short period of time, but my leg wound…recovering from that still seemed like an ongoing process. It would never be the same as it was before, never mind that I'd managed to get to the Olympics even after the injury. It had changed everything…

"…Why do you ask?" I finally responded, pulling the sleeve up over my knee and adjusting it.

"Well, you have the scars, and I noticed you only limp when it's raining outside, like it was when we first met. And you wear that blue thing over it too."

"I was shot," I said, heaving a sigh. "My left thigh is mostly metal now because the bullet pretty much destroyed the femur. It took me four months to be able to walk without a brace. As for the sleeve, I don't really need it except in bad weather, but when people see the scars they start asking questions. I'd just as soon avoid being bugged about it, so I wear the sleeve to cover them up."

"And nobody asks about the sleeve?"

"Not really. I'm an athlete. Athletes wear them all the time. So seeing me with one doesn't raise any red flags."

"…Who shot you?" she suddenly asked.

"You mean what shot me," I corrected blandly. "I was shot by a Boomer. As you'll soon learn, some Boomers go crazy and go raise hell in the streets. There was one time where I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that's when it shot me."

"Boomers? You mean those human-looking mechanical things like the ones we saw at the mall yesterday?"

"That's them. Not all look like that though." I pulled on my sneakers and tied the laces. "The ones the Army uses are bigger and meaner and a lot more dangerous when they go crazy."

"What happens when they go crazy? Who takes care of that?"

"The police usually can't do shit, so that's when the Knight Sabers come in," I said with a grin.

"Knight…Sabers?"

"Five women in powered suits, with weapons capable of taking out Boomers quickly. Lots more efficient than the police."

"Why don't the police have such suits?"

"Don't ask me," I shrugged. "I don't know anything about that. All I know is that I'm gonna be late if I don't get a move-on."

Emi's face fell. "Are you sure I can't come with you?"

"You'll be fine here by yourself," I assured her. "If anyone comes knocking on the door or calling, and they ask for me, just tell them I'm out. I'll be back around six or seven if nothing else comes up, and if something does, I'll call and let you know, okay?"

"Okay."

Annoyance clicked in the back of my head as I drove to the gym for another long, sweaty shift. I hadn't had to check in with anybody about my whereabouts since I lived with Mom. And although I had suggested Emi could get a babysitting job if money got tight, I felt like I was the one doing the babysitting, and it was a full-time job! She was like a toddler; I couldn't turn my back for a second, at least not until I taught her some basic life skills, which she seemed to lack. And also like a toddler, she was very curious, asking all sorts of questions about everything…and I hoped that my answers to her inquiries regarding my leg were enough to satisfy her, as well as warn her not to ask again. I didn't need to remind myself, yet again, about the state my leg was in. I was reminded every day of it; didn't need others to add to that.

Once I reached the Beehive, Linna's gym, I pulled my bike into its usual parking spot and yanked my helmet off, shaking out my hair. Taking out a band, I held it in my mouth while I pulled my hair back. Taking out the band, I wrapped it around my hair and secured it in a ponytail. Now all I had to do was go in, clock in, and change into some more appropriate attire.

One jerk had other ideas.

"Hot no matter what time of day it is," Masahiro wolf-whistled, approaching me as I walked up to the main entrance.

"It's Tokyo," I replied blandly. "Always hot this time of year."

"I meant you, babe," he said with a grin.

"Y'know, I can't even tell anymore if you're still interested in me, or if this has become some sort of running gag," I groaned, pulling off my motorcycle gloves. "Reminds me of Leon with Mom, but at least he had his limits."

"Some men can't handle strong women. Me, on the other hand—"

"—have learned how to take a knee to the crotch properly. Still drop in two seconds."

He didn't seem to get the hint. "I thought you were hot when you were fifteen. Now, you're just smokin'. I'm almost surprised you ain't got a guy yet, but I think I know why that is."

"It's NOT because I'm saving myself for you," I snapped. "Trust me. If you were the last guy on earth, I'd much rather die a virgin."

"You know I can show you a good time. You just need to give me the time of day so you know what you're missing out on."

"Piss off."

"Piss off? Ooh, someone's cranky," he cracked, that perverted grin still pasted to his face.

"I don't have time for this." I shifted my stance, spreading my feet apart slightly. He didn't notice. "I'm never in the mood to deal with you, but right now I'm REALLY not. And if you try to blame that on PMS I'll guarantee THIS knee to the crotch will make you sterile, if you're not already."

He moved to block my knee, but he didn't anticipate me making a different move. It was true that using my knee was the usual way to deal with things, but even Masahiro, it seemed, had learned to anticipate that move. Instead of raising my knee, I thrust with my left fist, finding its target in his gut. He let out a wheezing noise, gasping for air as he took a step back, grabbing his stomach. I smirked and made an uppercut with my right fist, hitting him square in the jaw. He was heavy enough that he didn't exactly get sent into the air, but he did stumble again, falling onto his back, one arm still over his stomach, the other moving to cradle his jaw.

"No wonder Tsubasa used to beat you up," I said, cracking my knuckles. "You never do learn. Three years of this crap, and you still don't know when to get the hint I am NEVER, EVER, going to sleep with you. Try all you want, give me all your best pick-up lines, none of it's gonna work. I HAVE a man I like, and even my first impression of him told me that he was more of a man than you'll ever be. So just stop."

I strode past a group of stunned girls, who'd been wanting to go into the gym but were blocked by Masahiro and me, and inside, fuming. With a start like this, the rest of the day was only bound to get worse. Seeing that mug tended to do that.

As like any other day, Linna and I led the class in warm-up stretches, followed by a dance lesson. After that came a beginner's yoga lesson, which was followed by a different group for advanced yoga. By the time I got to leading my tai chi class after a lunch break, I was aching inside. Tai chi was supposed to be relaxing, and most of the time it was, but the teenage, immature part of me still longed to hit something. I could've done part one of the form a hundred times, and it still wouldn't have released my pent-up frustration from this morning as much as just hitting something would have. Unfortunately, I had one more tai chi lesson to lead after this one before I'd have my chance to let it out during a karate lesson.

That last lesson before karate about killed me. The students seemed to pick up on my frustration too, for they frowned like I had while they were going through the movements. It actually somewhat amused me, especially as I walked around and pushed everyone over in turn; if they had been concentrating like they were supposed to, I shouldn't have been able to. But to be fair, they could've done the same to me, but I wasn't a student like them. I was the only one allowed to do the pushing!

Once the tai chi lesson was over, that group of students left, and a group of teens and twenty-somethings in gis and white belts came in. After they got into their positions, they all bowed simultaneously. After the obligatory warm-up, I decided to try out something different. I couldn't have done it if Linna were with me, but fortunately for me, at the moment she was taking a phone call in the office, so here was my chance to do that 'something different.'

"Line up," I ordered. "I'm gonna test you all out today."

"But Yamazaki-sensei didn't say anything about a test," a scrawny guy around my age, who was standing in the front row, protested.

"I'M your sensei today," I said, hands on my hips. "You've all been practicing your moves on the air and on pads. But today I want you to try them out on a living being. Me. See if you can get through my defenses and actually land a blow."

Everyone gasped, but I put up a hand to stop them from protesting further. "Don't worry. You won't hurt me. Trust me, I've taken hits from SOBs worse than a bunch of wusses with white belts."

"But Asagiri-sensei—" one girl started to say.

"Don't think it's fair for someone like me to take on beginners like you? Is that it?" I grinned evilly. "I'll go easy. But I don't want you to. Come at me with what you've got. I want to see if any of you have actually been serious about this. Let's see if you're worthy of that yellow belt you want to earn next month."

"But…"

"No buts!!" I barked. "Dammit, just attack me! You can bet I'll be the only person you'll meet who's gonna stand back and let you take the first punch. Take advantage of that. Do it!" I pointed at the guy who'd protested first. "You. Come on."

I didn't even practice karate, but I had led more than my fair share of lessons alongside Linna. And although I didn't officially have any sort of belt, with my fighting experience, this group was still screwed. They knew it, and I knew it, and I didn't give a damn. It was a chance to let out my frustration AND truly test them out. I hated people who just went through the movements. This would at least weed out the fakers from the real McCoys, if anything.

The guy in front of me finally let out a holler and did a full-on charge, like a rampaging bull. "Oh please," I sighed, sidestepping him, turning around in time to see him spin on his heel and fling a fist in my direction. I casually blocked it, and was even able to push him back, as he'd overextended himself and as a result, left himself off balance. Like the rookie he was, he was too busy concentrating on the fist I had in my hand to try to do anything with his free hand, which was a mistake. I plunged my left fist into his stomach, hearing the air get expelled from his lungs with a strange gasp as he took a step backwards, stunned. I frowned and crouched down, doing a spinning kick, sweeping him off his feet and making him land on his back on the mat with a hard thud.

"Oh crap," a girl gasped, looking horrified as she noticed I was eyeing her now.

"Come on," I said. "You're next."

"You said you'd go easy!"

"I did."

She looked at the other students around her for support, but was only met with similar horrified looks. She turned to me again, walking up to me like she was walking up to the guillotine to meet her fate. However, she didn't have to worry as much as the guy I'd just left sprawled on the mat behind me. I managed to get behind her with hardly any trouble, delivered a chop to the shoulder, and swept her off her feet in the same way I'd done earlier.

The two girls after her were dispatched pretty easily, which disappointed me and wasn't helping any to soothe my temper. Were they learning nothing in this class?! Maybe they were all just here for appearance's sake after all. That pissed me off. Luckily for me, another guy was up next. It was easier to beat up on guys than it was girls; not to be stereotypical, but the girls gave up a lot faster. At least the guys were tougher, or at least looked to be. Wouldn't exactly be manly to give up to a girl after three punches, even if that girl was your sensei. Just wasn't done.

"I hope you can take a punch," I jeered.

"I've taken my share," he deadpanned, getting into a fighting stance.

"Let's see if you can throw any, then."

Unlike the first guy, he wasn't defeated after throwing only one punch. This guy could throw 'em, but he couldn't hit me for shit. Of course, I was a good blocker, and he left his torso wide open. I threw out a roundhouse kick, hitting him square in the side, stunning him for a moment. He grunted and grabbed his side briefly, then came at me again, throwing up a kick. I stepped back, but it was close enough that I could feel the air moving in front of my face as his foot missed its mark. I smirked and grabbed his leg and gave it a yank. He yelped and gave two hops on his remaining leg before losing his balance and tumbling to the mat.

"That's not all you've got! Get up!" I ordered.

He scrambled to his feet and, again, overextending himself, threw a punch at me, his face twisted in anger. I swatted the arm aside and wasted no time in thrusting my fist into his face, a crack filling the air as I apparently broke his nose. "Getting too emotional," I said bluntly as he put a hand to his nose and let out a curse. "You're not thinking. Now try it again."

"I'll show YOU emotional!!" he snarled, getting both fists ready, when another voice entered into our fight, effectively stopping it.

"Hey! HEY!!"

Linna ran up between us and broke us up, turning to my opponent. "Oh God, did she break it?"

"Hell yeah she broke it!" he snapped.

"Go to the nurse and she'll take care of it." She turned to the other students. "You're all dismissed for the day. And Yumeko," she said, turning to me, looking none too pleased, "a word in my office, please. NOW."

I just smirked and did as I was told, following behind her as she headed to her office, motioning for me to shut the door behind me. "What on earth was that?!" she demanded, her voice calm but still angry. "They're white belts! What were you thinking, trying serious moves on them? You know they can't handle that!"

"Sick of the posers," I said. "Thought I'd try them out for real."

"I know you don't like the 'posers,' but that's no reason to test them out like that! They're still white belts, and they still have a lot to learn."

"Well, now they know just how much they need to learn."

Linna let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head, throwing up her hands. "You're incorrigible!"

"Thank you."

She pressed her lips together, looking ready to start on what would be a long lecture, when the phone on the desk rang. Even before she turned around to see who the call was from, I recognized the name on the caller ID: Stingray, Sylia.

"Sylia?" she said, picking up the receiver. "Yeah… Uh-huh. Sure, we can come right away, just need to change. Ok. …See you then." She hung up. "You got a break. Sylia wants everyone at her place in an hour."

"Job offer?" I speculated.

"Probably. She's not the type to make social calls, after all. Let's take a shower and head over there. And this isn't over, by the way. I'm still not happy about you taking out whatever frustration you have on the students."

"Well, I already beat up on Masahiro, and he went down as fast as he ever has. Problem was, I wasn't done beating up," I quipped.

"Should've known."

* * *

Linna and I were the last to arrive at Sylia's penthouse. Nene, Mackie, and Mom were already there, sitting on the couch patiently. I gave a nod to Mom, who just nodded back as I took the pot of coffee that Sylia had provided and poured myself a cup, adding a packet of sugar before settling into a chair.

"Been a while since we've had a job," I said, taking a sip from my cup.

"Yeah, well, I always said hell would freeze over before Genom lets there be peace on earth," Mom said, chugging from hers before setting it down. "Even with Madigan dead, there's still Quincy to worry about."

"Are we all settled in?" Sylia asked, walking into the living room and taking a seat next to Linna. Everyone nodded. "Good. This job is a little different from others we've had before."

"How so?" Linna asked.

"It's nothing that has made the rounds in the press yet, but as another step in the fallout from the summit and our raid in San Francisco last year, the UN has asked Genom to hand over the OMS."

"The OMS?" Nene gasped. "Really? I don't believe Genom would actually hand it over though. It would seem like something they deem way too valuable to let go of."

"Be that as it may, the UN still wants it. And so, a couple of nights ago, Genom made a delivery. Or attempted to, should I say. It was intercepted by an unknown group, and it was stolen."

Mom did a spit-take. "Stolen?! Oh, well, that's too bad for Genom, isn't it!"

"That was careless," Linna said. "Genom leaving something like that so unguarded? There must be more to this."

"Your assumptions would be correct," Sylia said, nodding as she took the kettle of tea that sat next to the coffee pot and poured a cup. "Anyone would expect Genom to deliver something of this much importance under the highest amount of security necessary. And yet it was still stolen. The information that I've received tells me that there is a possibility that this was an inside job by Genom to prevent the UN from getting its hands on the OMS."

"What kind of information?" I asked.

"For starters, the truck delivering the OMS was only occupied by humans. No security or Combat Boomers or anything like that. Even if it wasn't public knowledge that the OMS was to be handed over, it would still be likely that others within the company besides the most senior in the company would be aware of it."

"It might not have been an inside job, though," I said. "Other places would probably kill to have that thing."

"You're right. But there's no evidence to suggest anyone other than people within the UN or Genom was aware of the transfer. That's not to say your theory isn't possible, but we ought to explore the most possible avenue, and that is that this was an inside job."

"So where do we come in?" Mom asked, cupping her chin between her forefinger and middle finger in thought. I knew the look on her face; it said she didn't like where this was going, and honestly, I had an inkling as to what our role was in this as well.

"Our job is to secure the OMS and ensure its safe delivery to the UN."

"So the friggin' UN is our client this time?!"

"That's right. Our job is to retrieve the OMS, and if we can't ensure its safe delivery, then it is to be destroyed, but only if there is no other option left."

"Wouldn't that be a shame," I drawled dryly.

Sylia gave me a look. "This is not a job to be taken lightly, Yumeko," she admonished. "You're aware of the importance of the OMS, right?"

"Yeah. It's what controls all the Boomers. But I don't think anyone would blame me for wanting to 'accidentally' shoot the thing to bits." Mom gave a shrug, like she would probably do the same thing, but Sylia ignored her.

"Our fee is one-hundred million yen," she said, turning to face everyone, making them all draw a collective gasp. I swore I could almost see yen signs flashing in Linna's eyes. "That ought to tell us how important this is to the UN. We are getting fifty million up front, with the rest upon completion of the job." She looked at Nene. "Nene?"

"Yes?" she said.

"I need you to look up any Genom-related companies. Check and see if there has been any unusual activity within any of them within the past seventy-two hours. Given the urgency of this job, I need you to report back to me every hour with your findings."

She nodded. "I guess we have a long night ahead of us," she sighed with a smile, scratching the side of her head.

"I'll help out," Mackie offered.

"Good. I was going to ask you anyway."

"Anything the rest of us can do?" Linna asked.

"No," Sylia said. "I'll let you know if Nene comes up with anything. For now, just go on as normal, but let me know if you hear any unusual rumors or any chatter on the streets."

"It's Tokyo. There's always something unusual going on," I joked, but bit my lip when Sylia gave me another one of her patented stern looks.

The meeting wound down pretty quickly after that, and while Nene and Mackie headed to the computer room to go digging, Linna, Mom, and I headed down to the parking garage to our respective vehicles. Both of them looked like they were in deep thought, and even if I looked like I was acting casual, so was I. This was definitely an odd job if there ever was one. And the fee told me that this was not only an important job, but a very dangerous one as well. Hell, it was the OMS. I would expect it to be dangerous. It would definitely be odd if there was no danger to it!

"Do we even know what this thing looks like?" I asked, putting on my biking gloves. "Obviously if it could be stolen that easily, it can't be all that big."

"Who knows," Mom said, pulling on her helmet. "We'll wait and see what Nene digs up."

"Digs up… Ah damn! I forgot!"

"About what?" Linna inquired.

"Emi! I told her I'd call if I was gonna be running late!"

Linna and Mom both looked at me, curious. "Who's Emi?"

"She's this girl I took in a couple days ago. Got dumped from a truck and has no memory. Nene's been looking at the missing-person reports, but nothing's come up on her so far."

"Maybe you should have her meet Sylia. She could probably find out something about her," Linna suggested.

"I dunno. Emi's pretty shy. Sylia might scare her off."

"She'd scare anybody off," Mom quipped. "You left this girl at your place by herself?"

"Yeah, but I told her what to do if anybody calls or knocks on the door."

"Good, good." She paused. "I'm goin' out for drinks with Max and Hiroshi tonight, otherwise I'd ask you to come along."

"Thanks, but I should check on her, make sure she's ok. She's probably worried."

"You're acting just like a mom," she chuckled. "Worrying—"

"HEY! I am NOT!" I protested.

"You'd make a good mom!"

"No I wouldn't! I'd be terrible! I don't even know how to change a diaper!"

"Neither did I! But that's not the point here. Still, I'm glad you're worrying about her. Somebody needs to."

"I know. It just sucks that at the moment, I'm all she's got."

* * *

"Hungryyy…"

My stomach growled as I drove home, and despite the fact my stomach was growling, I had no idea what I was in the mood for. I hated that. Everything seemed good to me at the moment. I figured I would just ask Emi what she wanted and I'd just go along with that…as long as it wasn't egg sandwiches.

"Yumeko! You're home!" the copper-haired girl exclaimed as I walked in the door and tossed my helmet on the couch. "What took you so long? You said you would call!"

"Sorry," I said lamely. "My mom and some of her friends stopped by the gym as we were closing down. Just couldn't get out of there!"

"Oh."

"I mentioned them to you, and they'd like to meet you. But I told them you're a little shy, so maybe another time." I sniffed the air. "Bleh. Still smells like egg."

Emi just chuckled to herself. I lifted an eyebrow in response; what was she up to? "That was my doing," she admitted.

"Uh, yeah, I know, I was witness to the whole thing. Didn't think the smell would stick around though. Anyway, what did you feel like eating for dinner? Everything sounds good to me at the moment."

She put a finger to her cheek in thought. "Hmm…I don't know. I was too busy waiting for you to really think about food."

"You're not a puppy. You didn't have to sit by the door and wait."

"Oh, I wasn't! I sat on the couch!" I slapped myself on the forehead and let out a low groan. "I was worried!"

"I know, I know," I groaned. "Sorry. Anybody come by?"

"Uh-uh."

"Anyone call?"

"Nope."

"Good. Now what're we gonna do for dinner? I'm gonna start eating the table if neither of us thinks of something."

"Well," she suggested, "how about we go to that place you went to that night you found me?"

"No, no, I was thinking something with a little more…meat. There's a hamburger place about two blocks down. Let's try that out and see if we find anything good."

Emi just smiled. "Okay!"

It was a nice evening, so rather than take my bike, I decided we ought to walk the two blocks to the burger joint. Judging from the crowd in the restaurant, it seemed like everyone else thought it was too hot to use their stoves too. Now that I was here, I started thinking a bowl of soumen noodles sounded nice; it was cold, the perfect summer meal. But that didn't have meat in it, and I really wanted something I could gnaw on. A hamburger seemed to fit the bill just fine.

It wasn't until after I ordered for myself and Emi that I realized a lot of people were still waiting. At least a half dozen people were at the other end of the counter, waiting for their order numbers to be called. They started to get upset, but I just shrugged. It was the dinner rush; the cooks were probably frazzled.

"The chef Boomer has been running slow lately," the manager said, trying to appease the customers, to little avail. "It's going as fast as it can."

The guy next to me cracked his knuckles. "I'll MAKE the piece of shit go faster."

"Don't you think I've tried that?! Just makes it worse."

I sighed. Looked like this would take a while. And I was just as hungry as ever, and with the seconds and minutes ticking by, it wasn't easing any. "I wonder if it knows that there's a lot of people waiting," Emi mused.

"Probably not. I bet it just has its mind on the next burger," I said, grimacing. Food service…was there a worse job? Dealing with angry customers all the time, standing over a vat of oil…it was one job I was glad there was Boomers for, even if they did have a tendency to break down at the worst times, like this one. Well, it running slow was better than it going berserk. Had to grant that. But the people around me weren't worrying about the chef Boomer being overworked. They just wanted their food.

"C'mon, man! It's been twenty minutes!!" another guy roared.

"I'm sure it's doing its best," Emi tried to assure him.

"Well, kid, its best isn't damn near good enough. I ain't cuttin' no Boomer any slack!"

I just sighed. _Boomers can be a lot more human than you think,_ I thought, turning my head when I heard the manager gasp.

"Hey! It's going!" he cheered. People leaned over the counter to look into the kitchen to see if it was true. I did likewise, and sure enough, the chef Boomer was plugging away, getting burgers done and wrapping them up in hardly any time at all. The manager barely had time to grab the ones that were done before the Boomer made more and piled them up.

The line whittled down quickly, until finally Emi and I were at the head of the line. By that time, the manager was saying, "Okay, that's enough burgers. We don't need that many. …Really! You can stop!!"

I leaned over the counter again, blinking in surprise at the sight of the mountain of finished burgers that had piled up by the Boomer. There were only two people in line behind us, and I could only assume they wouldn't be able to eat the extra two-dozen burgers it had made. "Went into overdrive," I remarked.

Emi just giggled.

The manager had so much left over that he shut down the Boomer to keep it from wasting any more product, and put the remainder in the heater to make sure it didn't get cold or dry out or whatever. In the meantime, me and Emi sat there and enjoyed some medium-rare hamburgers, not how I liked them, but they were still good nonetheless.

"Now if only we could get quick service like that all the time," I quipped. "Never seen a Boomer spontaneously speed up like that before."

"Maybe it got its mojo back," Emi laughed.

The line took me by surprise; Emi didn't seem like the type to make quips. All I could do once I stopped gaping in shock was to laugh with her and enjoy my half-raw burger. Still, it was strange, but lots of things in this town were strange. I couldn't help but wonder if the OMS was in action, but dismissed that thought quickly; whoever had stolen the thing wouldn't bother to use it on a chef Boomer to make food faster. Didn't make sense. If anything, I was surprised that there wasn't a horde of them going crazy in the streets. Maybe they hadn't figured out how to work the thing. But even so, it was a matter of time.

As a Knight Saber, I had to expect the unexpected. But it certainly didn't hurt to expect the obvious, either.

* * *

I had to work again the next day, and so once again I had to leave Emi alone in my apartment. She begged again to come with me, but I stood my ground. "I have tomorrow off," I said. "We can hang out then. I want to take you to a couple places, but my work isn't one of them."

"What kinds of places?" she asked.

"If I told you, it would ruin it. You'll like 'em though. But right now, I oughta get going."

Emi looked like a lost puppy as I left. I felt bad – I should've been doing more to help her find any family that was sure to be looking for her – but I couldn't really do anything. All I could do was keep her safe until Nene got back to me with any information that she found. And then I remembered the current OMS job, and grimaced. She'd be too busy looking up crap on Genom-connected companies to even bother with information on Emi. I sighed to myself. Maybe I'd have to find her a part-time job after all.

During a moment of downtime at the Beehive, I told Linna of last night's events at the burger joint, how the chef Boomer had been going slow one moment, going into overdrive the next. "That IS odd," she agreed, taking a chug from her water bottle. "But when you make Boomers cheaply, that can happen."

"Part of me actually thought the you-know-what was involved in it," I laughed. "But that'd be a waste of time."

"Well…" She grinned. "Some people do like a good burger."

"But no one there looked like a baddie. I checked everybody out."

"Bad guys don't have a three-foot-tall sign saying 'I'm a bad guy.' They look normal enough."

"Well, if they gave themselves away, it'd make our job a hell of a lot easier."

"True, but then we'd practically be working for free if there was no element of danger to what we do. And Sylia can't afford that. The suits are expensive to maintain, and between the damage you and Priss take—"

"I'm not as bad as I used to be," I protested.

"You're still your mother's daughter!"

"What was the last major injury I got, huh? I bet you couldn't tell me!"

Linna smirked. "Oh, let's see, the broken arm in February," she ticked off on her fingers, "the bruising you took against those five BU-33Bs in April…"

"Those don't count."

"Maybe not compared to the summit or your stabbing, but we get worried when you get hurt, you know. Priss sometimes wonders if you get yourself hurt on purpose so that you'll have an excuse to take morphine again."

I bristled at that suggestion. "I was in rehab for that! Why would I want to relive that? And if she really thinks that, she can say it to my face instead of having me hear it second-hand from you. It's not something I'm proud of, and I know she's been holding it against me ever since I told her I needed help. I know she was disappointed. She needs to get over it."

"She's your mother. She feels partly responsible."

"Why? I got addicted in Sacramento. Nothing she could do from across the ocean. I made my own choices, and that was a bad one. I told her that lots of times, that it was a choice I made. I'm not a baby anymore."

"No, you're not," she said, nodding sagely. "But you did grow up pretty fast. All parents want to keep their children from growing up, from knowing the savagery that the world holds. You learned that earlier than most, and you show it."

"I still wouldn't change a damn thing though…except for Michiko. I still…feel bad for letting her down," I said softly, wincing at the memory. Knowing how her life ended wasn't something I liked to dwell on, although a quick glance at my stomach would've served as a quick reminder. "Took me a long time…to accept that there really was nothing I could have done." I then quoted something Bert had said to me on the subject. "…We're only human."

I could remember the expression on his face as he berated me, trying to get me to see that despite my insistence, I couldn't have done anything. I couldn't have known what was going to happen when she decided to walk home that day instead of getting a ride from me. But she was my best friend; I felt it was my duty to have known. And Boh had been after me, not her. And it was only after I'd returned home that I finally understood him, finally admitted that he was right. I wished I could tell him I was sorry for being a stubborn brat. I'd said so in the letter I'd written to him during my time in rehab, even if he'd never see it. I wished I could tell him that wasn't the real me that he saw. I wished…

"Yumeko?"

"Huh? Sorry," I said quickly.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I was just thinking that…there's a lot I wouldn't change, but some things I wish I could. I don't care about being hurt in the summit, but…I do care that the shit after that led up to Michiko dying. And…" I let out a breath. "I know she knows I'm sorry. And I'm sure she forgives me."

"It was a rough time," Linna said. "And you're stronger for it. You've learned from your mistakes. It's time to move forward now."

"Hell of a way to get stronger, though."

Breaktime was over, and we both headed back to the main part of the gym to lead our respective classes in their workouts. The conversation loomed in the back of my mind, though, as I went through the tai chi workouts, then the karate class, smirking when I caught sight of the guy whose nose I'd broken yesterday. Served him and his damn arrogance right. But I had to admit, I used to be like that, and somewhere deep down, I probably still was.

After the gym closed, I helped Linna disinfect the mats and tidy up, but before she dismissed me for the evening, she reminded me that she still wanted to discuss what happened yesterday.

"That's not appropriate behavior, especially for a sensei," she chastised. "I don't care if you had a run-in with Masahiro on your way in. If you're still angry with him, take it out on something or somebody besides the students. We have real punching bags; don't use the students as such."

"Okay, okay," I said, hiding a grin. "I think you said something like that before we had to go over to Sylia's."

"Well, I'm saying it again, because with you, repetition seems to be necessary."

"All those concussions warrants repetition," I said dryly, which didn't amuse her in the least, judging from the look on her face, but she didn't say anything. She dismissed me with a wave of her hand, and I made sure to hightail it out of there before she decided to lecture me any further.

Tonight I was actually in the mood for cooking; I wanted spaghetti, and fortunately I already had all the ingredients at home, so I didn't need to stop by a grocery store on the way home. I figured Emi would like a home-cooked meal, and learn that there was other stuff she could make besides sandwiches, and other stuff to eat besides burgers at restaurants. Me and Mom had almost lived on take-out when I still lived with her, due to the self-admitted fact she was a bad cook, so after I'd gotten my own place I'd made sure to learn to cook at least a few things. Didn't mean I'd sworn off takeout though. It was a quick solution for when I felt lazy and didn't want to do anything kitchen-wise, as was the case last night.

I opened the door to my apartment, half-expecting Emi to come running to the door as she'd done yesterday, but instead I saw her laying on the couch on her side, looking at the TV but not really watching it. "Hi," I said, walking up to her. "What's wrong?"

"Stomach hurts," she mumbled.

"Damn. I hope it wasn't that burger from last night."

"Don't think it was. Just started hurting a few minutes ago…"

"Did you take anything?"

She shook her head.

"I was gonna make spaghetti for dinner, but if your stomach hurts I guess that wouldn't be a good idea. I'll make some soup. Does that sound good?"

"Sure. Are you going to have some too?"

"Yeah, why not?"

I found a can of vegetable soup in the cupboard, and in a couple minutes I had it heating up on the stove. "It'll be ready in a little bit. It just…"

The beeping of a pager cut into the conversation, making me jump and wince. I hadn't expected it, but then again, I never did. I checked the message on it. "God dammit!" I swore.

"What's wrong?" Emi asked, holding her stomach as she pushed herself up to an upright position.

"Um, nothing. I just have to go," I said quickly, grabbing my helmet.

"Why? You just got home."

"I know! But this is something that can't wait. The soup'll be ready in five minutes. Make sure to turn off the burner, ok?"

"Ok."

"Good. I'll be back." With that, I was out the door and running down the stairs, cursing to myself. The message on the pager didn't tell me there was a rogue Boomer on the loose, but I still had to get down to Lady 633 as soon as I could, for it told me that Nene had tracked down what company was likely involved in the OMS heist…and that we were going to be paying a visit.

_This oughta be fun. Another knock-down-drag-out battle with Genom. Just how I like to spend my evenings,_ I thought flippantly as I took off on my bike.


	2. Say hello to my little friend

It always seemed to happen that the pager would go off right after I'd get home and was just winding down, but that was how it went. Still, that didn't stop me from grumbling to myself all the way to Sylia's building, but now I had more reason to grumble. I had someone to look after now, and I couldn't help her find her home if I was too busy fighting Boomers or going out on missions. I hoped that after this night, this particular mission would be done with and I could concentrate on helping her. But that would've been a naïve thought if I'd actually thought this night would be the end of it. Would've been nice, though, in any case.

I'd just entered the building when I caught Mom and the others heading down to the hardsuit bay. "What, we're not gonna discuss this in your place?" I asked Sylia.

"Nene will go over what she's found in the van," she said.

Suiting up only took a few minutes, and once that was done, we all piled into the van and headed towards our unknown, at least to me, destination. While Nene talked quietly with Sylia at the computer terminal, I turned and caught a glance of Mom. She seemed as calm as ever, while Linna kept looking at Nene every few seconds, waiting to hear what she had to say about who was involved in the OMS heist. I was curious too, but I wasn't jittery about it. My mind kept going to Emi, wondering if she was ok, even if all she had was a stomachache. _Maybe it was that half-cooked burger after all,_ I thought.

"All right, Nene," Sylia suddenly said so the rest of us could hear. "Tell them what you found out about our culprit."

Nene started typing on the computer. What she was looking for, I couldn't see from where I was. "There wasn't any unusual chatter among most of the Genom-related companies that Mackie and I looked at. But one, ASI, had quite a bit of activity, starting on Saturday and continuing through Sunday. But on Monday all of that ceased, and outward appearances suggest it's just been business as usual since then."

"ASI? What's that?" Linna asked.

"Adachi Synthetic Industries. They construct the fibers that are used to make Boomers, their muscles specifically. Genom's main subsidiary for Combat Boomers, particularly the C-class ones."

"I find it hard to believe it's business as usual if they do have the OMS," Mom cut in.

I turned my head just in time to see Nene bring up some surveillance footage on the monitor screen. "Well, take a look at this tape then," she said. "It's from the van that the OMS was taken from."

All of us gathered around the terminal behind Nene and watched as she played the footage. Inside the van were three people, all men. A metal box sitting on a long bench to the left was evident; it was safe to assume that was what the OMS was in. Five minutes passed, and nothing strange went on in the van, just the men chatting. There was no audio, so of course none of us knew what they were discussing, but that became a moot point when suddenly, everyone's bodies jerked forward; the van had stopped. The back doors were busted open, and four masked figures came running in, pointing assault rifles at the occupants of the van. One of them took the box and ran out, while two others continued to point their guns at the others. The last one looked up, straight at the camera, and without hesitation fired his gun, apparently shooting out the camera, as the footage ended there.

"That last one, he just looked up at the camera for no reason," I observed. "Like he just knew it was there."

"A Boomer?" Mom mused.

"But why would a Boomer help steal the OMS?"

She smirked and shrugged. "Wants its freedom, maybe? Don't ask me."

"If it's an inside job," Sylia said, "whether that last person was a Boomer and why it helped with the heist doesn't matter. What matters is that we get the OMS back intact, if at all possible."

I frowned as I thought about the footage. It had been hard to judge from the angle of the footage, but the last person, the one who'd shot out the camera, seemed a lot smaller than the others. A kid? No way. Even I knew that Genom would never send a kid out on a mission like that. I shook my head. I was overthinking this. Just because one was smaller than the others meant nothing. After all, it wasn't like women couldn't be master thieves, too. But still…there was nothing masterful about how this was pulled off at all. Sure, the thieves came in with weapons and threatened the people in the van, but that could have been entirely for show if it really was an inside job.

"If it was a setup, it would help explain why those guys didn't just shoot the people in the van outright," I said.

"Waste not, want not," Linna replied. "Even if these are low-level people that Genom is using."

"If it's business as usual like you said," Mom suddenly said, "then maybe the OMS isn't at the ASI facility. They probably transported it somewhere else."

"It's a possibility," Sylia allowed, "but for now, we're going to take a look at the ASI building and see what we can find. And remember, just because it seems like normal operations there doesn't mean it is. The people at the facility may not know how to work the OMS, and it's probable that they don't. But if someone there does, then we could be in for a major fight."

"We're ready for it," I assured her, thrusting my fist against my chest. "We can handle anything they throw at us! We took on the San Fran Genom Tower, after all!"

"But that was me and Sylia who handled most of those Boomers, remember," Mom said glibly, nudging me in the shoulder. "You, Nene, and Linna had it easy compared to us."

"And you came out of it no worse for wear."

"So let's make sure we have a repeat performance."

"Right!"

As Mackie informed us we had ten minutes until we arrived at the ASI facility, everyone pulled on their helmets and ran the usual system checks. Mom inquired as to whether our Motoslaves would be needed, to which Sylia replied not yet, only if the situation ended up warranting their use. I hadn't used mine very often lately; the battles were usually over quick enough. And still at my sides, eleven months after he'd given them to me, were the two bombs that Bert had given me in the other world. Aside from the fact I hadn't been in a situation where I'd have to use something like those, another reason I hadn't used them yet was that they were sort of like souvenirs to me. Reminders, in battle, of where I'd been. And the situation now seemed somewhat similar to when Bert, Craig, and I had raided DYNETECH.

I could only shake my head. Even little things reminded me of what I'd done with them, the only guys that I had found to be decent. And despite the uncertainty of the situation in front of us as we got closer to our destination, I felt certain of one thing: at least we wouldn't have to worry about facing a HeadHunter-like Boomer, or another Largo.

Well, mostly certain.

"Would you believe it?!" Mackie grumbled out loud. "We're stuck in traffic!"

"This late?" Linna asked, sounding somewhere between disbelief and resignation.

"That's ok," Sylia said, standing up. "It's about time for us to make our move, anyhow. I'm going to send two of you out there to make your way to the ASI building as scouts. Priss, Yumeko, you're the two. I want each of you to take one side of this street and make your way to the ASI building. Nene will radio you the directions as you go. When you get there, let me know of what's going on so we can go from there."

"Roger," Mom said, opening the roof hatch. "Let's get to it, Yume."

"I hear ya," I replied.

"Be careful," Nene said.

"We will. You know us."

"I know. That's why I said it."

I just grinned behind my visor as I followed Mom up through the hatch and onto the roof of the van. I was still crouched on my knees and about to get to my feet when I peered at the sight ahead of me. A long line of red taillights as far as the eye could see, just like Mackie said, and the air rang with honking horns and people yelling profanities out their car windows. "Damn, I wonder what the holdup is," I mused aloud as I got to my feet.

"It's Tokyo, what other excuse do you need?" Mom quipped, pointing to the right side of the street. "I'll take this side. You take the other."

"Gotcha."

"Both of you," Nene radioed, "head down the street for three blocks. When you get to 105th St., head west."

"Hear you loud and clear," Mom said. "Go."

Mom jetted up to her side of the street, while I opened up my wings and flew up to the roof of the nearest building, folding them shut as I landed. After waiting a second, I charged, right for the edge of the building. Jumping, I pushed off with one foot off the ledge, landing hard on the roof of the next building but not stopping, instead charging again and repeating as needed, until I reached the first block. I looked both ways, mentally slapping myself as I realized that I wasn't really crossing the street…just flying over it. Still, it was crossing it in a way. Using my jets, I quickly cleared the street and was on the run again.

A few minutes later I reached 105th, and just as I made a left and headed west, I could make out a figure across the street clearing buildings as well. I signaled to Mom, and she did likewise and pointed ahead. I nodded before clearing another building.

I looked down. We seemed to be following the traffic jam. For a brief moment I thought it was strange, but Mom was right; this WAS Tokyo, infamous for having gridlock at any time for no reason whatsoever.

"Almost there," Nene said over the comm. "Make a right and head north again in two blocks."

"Roger," I replied, using my jets to clear another street in order to make that right turn and head north once I reached the designated street.

"Yume!" Mom hollered over the comm. "Get over here!"

"Where are you?"

"A few buildings ahead of you. Come look at this!"

I grimaced and jumped from roof to roof for about five more buildings before I saw an ominous glow in the distance, behind the building directly in front of me. I cursed under my breath, Mom motioning for me to follow her once I reached her. I nodded and did so.

I winced as the brightness from the glow I'd seen hit my eyes, holding up my hand to block it. Even in my suit, I could almost feel the heat. Judging from Mom's stance, she wasn't too thrilled at all. But still, she managed a chuckle.

"Nope. Sylia's not going to like this at all," she remarked with a snort.

"What the hell?" I gasped.

In front of us was a large building, about eight or ten stories tall, every floor engulfed in flames. Fire engines and police cars surrounded the gates of the building, firefighters – probably firefighter Boomers – spraying water on the building with a single hose in a feeble attempt to get the flames under control. The sign next to the main gate of the building said:

**A**dachi  
**S**ynthetic  
**I**ndustries

A Genom-operated company

"Hey Sylia?" Mom yelled over the comm. "I think your plan just went up in smoke."

"Lots of smoke," I mumbled.

"Stay there," Sylia said, though I could hear an audible sigh. "Linna, Nene and I will be there shortly."

"Roger that," Mom said, disconnecting. "I wonder what this is about?"

"Maybe they knew we were coming," I suggested, despite the fact I knew that was a lame suggestion. "Or the OMS blew up?"

"Yeah, yeah, right. I don't think Genom would have something as important as that just be able to malfunction and go boom. But this…" She pointed at the ASI building. "Something's just wrong here."

My scanner picked up something below us, and I looked down and peered into the alleyway below, one between the building we were standing on and the adjacent one. Several figures, bearing all the hallmarks of 55C Boomers. "Now THAT'S wrong," I said wryly. "We've got some stragglers hanging around!"

"I'm picking up more in this one too," Mom concurred, looking at the one on the other side of the building. "How many you got? I'm picking up three so far."

"Three here too. I can take 'em."

"Good. I got these ones."

It just figured that it was 55C Boomers; not only were they the type we usually fought, in addition to 33B Boomers, but the ASI place was where their muscles were made. No surprise that this was the type we ran into at all. I squeezed one eye shut and crouched down, taking aim with my MDD. Once I had a lock on the Boomer in front, I didn't hesitate. I fired, sending a disc clean through its throat, decapitating it. As it dropped to its knees, the other two looked up, by which point I was already on my way down to the alleyway, having jumped as soon as I'd fired the disc at the first Boomer.

I'd barely touched down before both of them were in my face, one with mouth open, ready to fire its mouth cannon. I ducked just in time, as the beam went sailing over and past my head. Seeing my opportunity, I readied my Knuckle Bomber and slammed my fist into the Boomer's gut. It let out a howl and reached to grab me, but I pulled away before it could do so. My scanners bleeped out a warning about the other Boomer having made its way behind me, and I had to duck again as that one, too, tried to take a piece out of me. Both arms outstretched, I fired one disc at each of them, sending them cutting through the Boomers' torsos. Both stumbled back, and I turned my attention to the more severely-injured one, popping out my right lasersword.

It didn't stand much of a chance at all. Try as it might, it just wasn't able to land a single hit on me before I cut one arm off at the elbow, then stabbed it through the chest, making it spew orange fluids as it collapsed to the ground, dead. Instinctively, I whirled around and swiped again with my sword, and my instincts were correct, as I found myself cutting off the left arm of the last Boomer.

"Heh. Not supposed to attack from behind, y'know," I said, blocking when it thrust its remaining fist at me, arm trembling from the impact. "No one ever taught you guys battle etiquette!" I ducked and darted between its legs, spinning at the last moment to catch it right in the crotch with one of my Leg Bombers. Another two discs through the back, and it dropped dead as well, joining its two comrades.

"But," I added with a sniff, "when it comes to fighting you guys, that doesn't apply."

"You done?" Mom asked over the comm.

"Yeah. You?"

"Same."

"I guess the OMS is intact after all, if these guys were fighting us."

"Probably means it wasn't in the ASI building after all," she sighed. "I knew that would've been too obvious."

"What do you suppose happened then?"

"Hell if I know." She paused. "Yume, you've got company."

"Hmm?"

My scanners lit up like an overdecorated Christmas tree as it warned me I had more than just company. I spun around and found myself looking into six pairs of glowing red eyes. I didn't even think; I automatically opened up my wings and took to the sky, getting back up to the roof as quickly as I could, popping out my lasersword again as I heard them coming up right behind me. With a holler, I swung down with my sword as hard as I could, putting all the extra power from my suit into it, and sure enough, the first Boomer I saw ended up going headfirst right into the blade, splicing in half as it couldn't stop jetting up. I backed up several steps as the other five Boomers took its place, and landed on the roof, surrounding me. I gulped and brought my other sword to bear.

"I guess you guys didn't hear my little lecture," I said before they all lunged at me.

I activated my jets, and with both swords out, rammed head-on into the Boomer directly in front of me, stabbing and cutting as I went. It went down, and I rolled forward over its corpse as I heard the others coming up right behind me. I barely had time to turn around before I found one right in my face, and I let out a yelp as it slapped me aside, sending me rolling several feet. I gave a shake of my head and took aim with my discs again.

"Son of a bitch!" I heard a voice yell out, followed by a blue hardsuit slamming into one of the Boomers, firing several needles through its torso, followed by an uppercut Knuckle Bomber to the head. It fell back dead, and while two of the remaining Boomers turned their attention to Mom, the last one charged at me. I still had my arm out, aiming at it, so I wasted no time in firing off a disc, which made it jerk back as a disc penetrated its chest and burst out the other side. It growled and charged again, and for a moment I was surprised that it was still going, but I just shook my head and returned the charge, slamming a Knuckle Bomber into its stomach. It started to grab at my left shoulder, but then went limp, and I took a step back as it fell forward, dead.

Mom had just finished off the last Boomer, and was getting to her feet. "Tch, stubborn bastards," she muttered.

"They're stubborn dead bastards now," I joked, then turned around as I noticed the other three Sabers choosing this moment to show up. "You just missed the party."

"Looks like you partied pretty hard," Linna said, looking around at the dead Boomers littering the roof.

"Any sign of what caused this?" Sylia asked, nodding towards the still-flaming building nearby.

"No clue," Mom said. "And the Boomers appeared out of nowhere. I'm not about to assume they were fleeing the fire."

"It's possible they caused it," Nene suggested. "But if they were in collusion, then…why?"

"Why indeed," Sylia said; I could almost see her frowning behind her visor. "Well, we can't examine the building like this, and it's a given the OMS is still intact, judging from the Boomers' actions."

"That's what Yume said," Mom cut in.

"What do we do now?" I asked. "Head back?"

"Yes," Sylia said, "after we deal with the group that's coming up on us right now."

"More?!" I ran my scanner, and besides the dead Boomers surrounding us, I was picking up ten more that were surrounding the building, and ready to come up to our level. "Where the hell are they coming from?!"

"Let's not think about that right now. Let's take them down."

A few moments passed, and the Boomers I'd discovered around the perimeter of the building were coming up to meet us, three at a time, followed by the last one. The growls they let out as they surrounded us five made it sound like we were about to get pounced on by a pack of wolves. I wasn't too worried, though; that made it two Boomers to each Saber, assuming Nene would be able to take hers down on her own. But if not, the rest of us were there to help her. We'd done it for each other many times, and I had to admit Bert put it perfectly when he said no one keeps score on how many times who saved who, or how many times who was saved. Damn him, having to act so omniscient around me, a kid, but still a Knight Saber in my own right.

Ducking blows from the Boomers on the move against me, it did occur to me that I'd been doing this for almost three years. Years that had seemed like a lifetime, and indeed, I had practically lived an entire lifetime in those three years. I probably wouldn't even recognize my old self, my sixteen-year-old self, nor would she know me.

"_I want to join you guys and help you put these bastards down,_" I had said back then.

"Time to put YOU down," I growled, taking a swipe with my sword, which the Boomer jumped back to avoid. My other opponent fired off a blast from its arm, which I jumped back to avoid, only to have the first one run up to me and grab me by the shoulders. I winced as it started to push them inwards, trying to crush me. I tried to pull away, but it held fast, and pushed in harder. I groaned and winced again, and shifted my feet, getting ready to give it a kick with my Leg Bomber.

It was then that the glowing in its eyes stopped. They went dead.

"What the hell?!" Mom snapped.

"Huh?!" Linna gasped. "They stopped?"

"Ack!" The Boomer's weight, still largely on my shoulders, came bearing down, and the thing's body toppled forward on top of me. All I could do was yelp as I fell down and got squashed. After getting my arms free I was able to push the dead weight off of me and stand up, rotating one arm to get the soreness out of my shoulders. "What just happened? My Boomer just decided to shut down."

"So did the others," Nene said, looking around. I could hear her scanner going. "All of them shut down completely."

I looked around. The other Boomers had frozen in position, just like the one I'd been fighting, stock still like statues. "This is just creepy," I remarked, shuddering.

"Is this someone's idea of a joke?!" Mom growled, snapping her head around. "'Cause I ain't laughing! Whoever's got the damn OMS is toying with us!"

"Even if that's the case, I don't suppose you want to chance them restarting, do you, Priss?" Sylia asked coyly. "If someone is playing with us, then let's not let them have another turn. Let's take them out before they come back online."

"I hear that!" I said enthusiastically, cutting the Boomer nearest me in half through the torso with one of my swords, while Mom Knuckle-Bombed some of the other Boomers' heads, Linna cut through a few with her ribbons, and Sylia cut up the remaining ones with her own swords. I looked down at the one that had had me by the shoulders just before shutting down, and slammed my Knuckle Bomber into the back of its head, ensuring it wouldn't decide to wake up on me again.

Sylia looked around, looking satisfied that the Boomers were dead and that no others would be sneaking up on us. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

I leaned back on the couch and yawned as Nene came up to everyone with a tray with a kettle and several cups. "Anybody need coffee?" she asked.

"Thanks," I said, and in seconds all of us had a cup of coffee in our hands. I gulped mine down eagerly, worn out from the night's events, strange as they had been. I had never had Boomers just shut down on me in battle before, and judging from the others' reactions, they hadn't seen anything like it either. "This is just weird. Them shutting down like that?"

"Weird doesn't begin to cut it," Mom said flatly, chugging her cup as well.

Sylia sat down between Mom and Linna, and filled up her own cup of coffee. Taking a sip, she sat back and crossed her legs, letting out a small sigh. "All signs," she said, "are pointing to this being an inside job gone wrong. There are no signs of Genom having recovered the OMS, but apparently someone has access to it."

"I wonder if someone could've hacked into it?" Nene mused. "Maybe Genom can access it, even though they can't physically touch it, and someone else made it so those Boomers shut down."

"It's possible," Sylia said with a nod. "But for the ASI building to go up in flames…"

"Well, y'know," Mom added, "if I was given a toy like that, I know I wouldn't want to give it back, no matter what you offered me for it."

Mom must've hit something on the head, for Sylia suddenly looked like she had an idea. She stood up. "I am going to get in contact with Fargo and see what else he can find out for us about ASI. In the meantime, you four get some rest. We all need it."

"I should check on Emi," I said. "She wasn't feeling good when I left her."

Sylia looked at me. "Who's Emi?" she asked curiously.

"Just a girl I took in. I've been trying to have Nene find out stuff about her, since she lost her memory before I found her, but…"

"That's going to have to wait. You know that. We have more important things to worry about at the moment."

"I know…"

I was so tired that I found myself nodding off on the way home several times, but the dull aches in my shoulders helped me to keep me awake somewhat. I tried rotating my arms again during red lights, which helped a little, but I did make a mental note to take something before I headed off to bed.

_ASI went up in flames…but Genom doesn't have the OMS back. Apparently it's missing,_ I thought. _Maybe Genom got pissed that it wasn't where it was supposed to be. Maybe ASI's got it in an extra-special hiding place. Ha, maybe ASI wants to be Genom! But they're owned by Genom!!_ Hell, I was a Knight Saber, but by no means did that mean I wanted to become the leader of the Knight Sabers! I knew Sylia could handle that job better than anyone. I was probably the least qualified for that position, but at least I knew it.

I sauntered up to the entrance to my apartment, almost dropping my helmet as I put the key in the lock and turned it. Walking in, I tossed the helmet to the ground near the door and shut it, pulling off my jacket. The TV was still on, turned to the news. Emi was still on the couch, stretched out. She was asleep. I breathed a sigh of relief.

_I guess she felt better then,_ I thought. _Good._

* * *

It was that state between consciousness and sleep, that state where you're not really sure if what you're feeling is real. The jabbing sensation in my shoulder, I thought, was just part of a dream I thought I was in. But somehow, I doubt people feel pain in their dreams, as the jabbing really started to get on my nerves.

I turned over in bed and looked up bleary-eyed at an orange-haired girl. "What?" I asked.

"You didn't wake me up when you came back!" Emi scolded. "I was worried, especially when I saw the Boomers on the TV!"

"Heh. Boomers…" I muttered, feeling myself drifting back to sleep again. I looked up at her again. "I didn't go through that part of town. That's nowhere near where I went."

"Where did you go, then?"

"District 3. It's where Sylia lives. She's another of my mom's friends, another 'aunt.' She called us all over because she wants to throw Nene a surprise party for her birthday next month, and she wanted to ask our opinions about what we should do."

"Her birthday is next month?" She lit up. "How old is she going to be?"

"It's not polite to ask," I chuckled, sitting up, running a hand through my hair, "but between you and me, she'll be forty-three."

"Wow. She looks young. I wouldn't have guessed she was that old."

I laughed out loud, slapping my knees. "Ha ha!! Don't say that to her face! In her mind she's still nineteen. When I turned nineteen last month she went on and on about how 'Oh, that's the best age ever. I wish I could've stayed nineteen, and be able to roll out of bed looking ready for work like you do, Yumeko.' She's too much."

"How old is your mom?"

"She's a year older, she's forty-four."

"So she had you when she was twenty-five?"

"Uh-huh, less than two weeks after her birthday."

"What about your dad? Am I going to meet him today too?"

I grunted. "Sperm donor. I'm not going to get into that with you. Mom wouldn't like it. It's something she doesn't like talking about."

Emi just blinked, then smiled and nodded. "Oh. Okay."

I crawled out of bed. "I'm gonna have you meet Mom and Linna, and Sylia if we have time. I also want to take you to a few other places too."

"What about Nene? We're not going to go see her?"

"She's busy with work-related crap, so she hasn't been able to look anything up about you."

"Oh. And what kinds of places were we going to go to?"

"Just…places. Places that're special to me. Did you need a shower?" She nodded. "Go take one. I'll make breakfast."

While Emi took her shower, I prepared some bagels, toasting them before spreading a generous layer of cream cheese over them. After that, I cut up some apples and poured two glasses of orange juice. I'd just sat down to eat mine when I heard the shower turn off; Emi was already done. By the time I finished half of my bagel and most of my cut-up apple, she was already dressed and bouncing into the kitchen, sitting down to take a big bite out of her own bagel.

"This is good!" she squealed.

"It's easy enough to make," I said, sipping my juice. "And it's filling. Think you can handle the dishes while I take my shower?"

"I can do that," she said.

"Good."

I finished my breakfast and took my turn in the shower, letting the hot water beat down on my shoulders and work out the last of the kinks that remained in them from last night's fight. Definitely unusual, the Boomers suddenly quitting in the middle of battle like that. But at least it saved us from tiring ourselves out and kept any of us from getting hurt. For that, I was thankful. But still…who had the OMS, anyway? Did ASI still have it? If so, were they on our side? Did the people there shut them down on purpose? Or did someone else have it, and they were just shut down as part of a trial run?

I frowned in thought as I rinsed the shampoo out of my hair and replaced it with conditioner, scrubbing it into my scalp. This whole thing made no sense. If Genom and ASI were in cahoots, then how did the ASI building go up in flames? Was it really an inside job gone wrong, like Sylia had suggested at our post-battle meeting? Was the whole thing a setup? I hated putting together puzzles when I only had half the pieces. It was damn frustrating.

"_Let Sylia handle it,_" I could hear Craig say; I could imagine him standing behind me and putting his hands on my shoulders as I wrapped the towel around me and stepped out of the shower. "_She's the leader. She knows how to handle situations like this._"

_Yeah yeah,_ I thought, _but that doesn't diffuse MY confusion. Sure glad I'm not the leader, sure glad I wasn't put into that position like Bert was._

Still towel-clad, I laid down on my bed and spread my arms so that they were laying spread out at my sides. It had been a while…and as much as I'd hated the situation for most of the time I was there, I did enjoy fighting alongside Bert and Craig, even if they were guys. They were Knight Sabers, too, after all, and they had more experience than I did, as much as I hated to admit it at the time.

Bert and I had had our disagreements, but by the end we'd gained a mutual respect for each other. But it was Craig who'd helped me through everything. He'd even stayed by my side after I'd stabbed myself, a desperate move that I'd regretted almost as soon as I'd done it, and he was there for me even when he saw me black out during the incident at the bar. He was always there.

Maybe it was a form of Stockholm Syndrome, although I was loath to admit it, especially to myself – we hadn't been kidnapped and held hostage, after all – but for some reason I did start to have feelings for him, and when I confessed them to him, he returned them in kind. And that last night, after our final confrontation with Largo and his goons, that last night before we were to return to our own worlds…I'd straddled his lap, kissed him, asked him to make love to me. I wanted to show him that I did…love him…even if I never did get the chance to say that word to him. And his response…

"_I'm not a one-night-stand kind of guy._"

I'd been so hurt by his remark. I'd recoiled and said that that wasn't what I'd meant at all. All I'd wanted to do was show that I was willing to give him my virginity, even if I knew we'd never see each other again. If I was going to be hurt by somebody, then let me be hurt by him. It didn't matter to me.

Looking back, I understood why he'd said it, why he'd refused to sleep with me. He wanted to spare himself, as well as spare me, because of that very reason, that we'd never meet again. I still wanted to believe it, though, believe that somehow, someway, we WOULD meet again. I swore it in my heart. I swore to myself that I would wait for him.

I was sure he'd laugh if he knew, but I didn't care.

_Oh, what I would do if I saw you again, Craig, _I thought. My heart would probably burst with happiness, to use a damned overused cliché. I wished I could fight alongside him again; I was certain he would've had a similar expression to the one I'd worn last night if he were there to see the Boomers spontaneously shut down. I wished I could curl up in his bed with him, like he'd let me do after I'd checked in on him after a particularly strenuous battle, one where I'd almost gotten him killed, despite his insistence it was his fault, not mine. I wished I could hold him and never let go. I wished he were right here, to open up my towel and feel my bare skin underneath his large, strong hands. I would let him. I would kiss him, hold him close…

…let him inside…

My eyes flew open at the last thought. I could feel my skin burn hot and red with embarrassment. I let out a breath and stared up at the ceiling. Why would I feel embarrassed about having thoughts like that? If that was what people did when they loved each other…then why would I feel that way? It wasn't shameful… Just because I was a virgin and wanted to be touched that way…no. It wasn't shameful at all, to feel that way.

"Yumeko!"

I jumped and sat up quickly. I hadn't heard Emi come in. "What?" I said, my voice a full octave higher than normal. "What is it?"

"Are you ok?" she asked, stifling a snicker. "Your whole body looks like it's blushing."

"I'm fine!" I insisted. "I just ran the water a little hotter than I intended."

"I did the dishes."

"Good, good. Just sit and watch TV or something while I get dressed. I'll be out in a minute. How's your stomach, by the way? I didn't ask."

"Oh, it's better. It hurt for a long time, but it feels good now."

"That's good. Now go, I gotta find something to wear."

Emi just giggled to herself as she left, closing the door behind her. I sat there and gaped for a second, then let out an exasperated sigh and flopped back onto the bed. It hadn't been that obvious what I was thinking about, was it?! How long had she been standing there?!

"Damn!"

* * *

I only lived about two kilometers from the apartment that Mom and I used to share, so it wasn't that long of a ride. Still, I'd debated on whether to have Emi meet her or Linna first; I wasn't sure how she'd react to Mom, or how Mom would treat her since she was a girl I'd almost literally pulled off the street. But she was closer, so I figured I'd get it out of the way.

"This is it?" Emi asked, pulling off my helmet, which I'd lent her.

"Yup. Fourth floor. I lived here with her until January, then I got my own place. It's about the same size as my apartment, but you're staying with me so you can imagine what it's like to share a small space like that."

We went inside and headed up the three flights of stairs to get to the fourth floor. Several doors down on the right was a door that I had gone back and forth through about a million times. It used to be home. In fact, I had only been here a handful of times since I'd gotten out of rehab and moved out. When we did talk it was usually over the phone, and in person it was usually her who came over to my place, or to my work. I rarely did likewise, but I figured if Emi was going to be staying with me for the foreseeable future, then she and my aunts ought to at least meet her.

But life has a funny way of throwing you curveballs.

"Oh! Yume," Mom said, looking startled to see me when she answered the door. She turned to Emi. "Oh, hi."

"Hello," Emi said cheerfully, bowing. "It's nice to meet you in person!"

I blinked. "Huh?"

Mom grinned. "Oh, I called your place last night, but I guess you hadn't gotten home from work yet. Your friend answered the phone."

"You forgot to mention this," I said darkly, turning to Emi.

"I got my stomachache after that," she replied matter-of-factly. "I forgot about it. I didn't know she was your mom though. She just said she was wondering if you'd gotten home yet."

"Don't think I introduced myself either," Mom said. "I'm Priss."

"I'm Emi."

"I know. Yume's told me about you."

We entered the apartment, me and Emi sitting down on the couch. "What did you wanna talk with me about?" I asked.

"I was gonna remind you to come over to Sylia's place, but you weren't there, so she paged you."

"About Nene's birthday party, right?" Emi chimed in.

Mom blinked, then gave me a look. I nodded. "Ohhh, oh, yeah," she grunted. "She loves a party, I'll tell ya. To hell with hiring strippers, she IS one."

I coughed and made a gesture to Emi not to inquire. "Today's my day off," I explained, "so I thought I'd show Emi around."

"How long you been staying with Yume?" Mom asked.

Emi had to think for a moment. "Since Sunday night. And why do you call Yumeko Yume?"

"Nickname. Reserved for me," she added with a smirk.

_I didn't mind Craig calling me that, though,_ I thought.

"It's cute," Emi gushed. "I think Yumeko suits her better though."

"…Cute?" I repeated.

"I should've known you were her mother! The eyes are the exact same! And the voice has the same huskiness."

"…Husky?"

"You mean you didn't?" Mom chuckled. "She's more than a chip off the ol' block."

"But everything's darker. Her hair, her eyes. Was her father pretty dark?"

"Emi!" I hissed. She cringed, remembering what I'd told her.

Mom grunted. "Her father," she said, spitting the word like it was a profanity, "is only a father in the sense he was there at the conception. He contributed nothing else, except maybe my darling daughter's addictive personality. Did she tell you about that?"

Emi shook her head. "Tell me about what?"

"She's a druggie. She went to rehab for a couple months—"

"I am NOT…" I seethed, getting to my feet, "a druggie. I don't like you throwing that in my face every time we're alone. I'm past it now!"

"Are you?" she queried, unabashed. "In your line of work you can't afford to be in pain."

"In my line of work there's other options besides shooting up."

"You sure you don't wish you had that little white bottle every time it rains? Every time you're limping down the street because it's snowing? Yume, you KNOW I've met a lot of people, in MY line of work, who've used. Even if they're sober, clean, they're still addicts. You're always one, no matter how long it's been since you last got high. There's always that temptation every time you get stressed out, every time you just wanna escape for a while."

"And that's why you hit the bottle when you got pregnant with me, right?" I snapped, in such a calm voice I hardly believed it was me who said it.

Mom started to raise her hand, and I instinctively took a step back, starting to raise my own hands in a defensive gesture. But she stopped and pressed her lips together, fuming for several seconds before answering. "That was before I knew I was pregnant," she said slowly, face red with anger but her voice giving away none of it. "But you didn't stop once your leg was healed."

"It'll never be healed," I refuted. "It'll never be the same. I've just had to learn to live with it."

"You have a guitar?!" Emi squealed out of nowhere. It was then I realized she'd disappeared from her spot on the couch next to me, and had made her way to a corner near the front door, where Mom kept her guitar. She picked it up and gave me a weak smile; it was like she felt she had to do something to break up me and Mom's fight.

"Of course I do, I have a band," Mom said, giving me a 'what the hell?' look as she stood up and took the guitar from Emi.

"Could you play something? I'd like to hear it."

"Like what?"

"I was listening to the radio while Yumeko was at work, and this one song on this one station…the music was like…it went like…do do dooo, do do, do dooo…"

"_Stairway to Heaven_," Mom and I chorused.

"Yeah, I can play that," Mom said, sitting down and tightening the strings on the guitar.

"You found the oldies station?!" I remarked.

"It was old?" she asked, making me slap myself upside the head. "But it was so pretty!"

"Doesn't stay that way."

"The whole thing is nice."

Emi sat back down next to me, while Mom finished tuning up her guitar. She strummed her fingers along the strings before settling into a classic tune. I closed my eyes and could hear her humming where the lyrics would have been as she played.

"_There's a feeling I get…when I look to the west…_" I mumbled, "_and my spirit is crying for leaving. In my thoughts…I have seen…rings of smoke through the trees, and the voices of those who stand looking…_"

* * *

_Early September. Several days after I'd returned home from the other world, and several days since I had admitted to Mom my drug problem. We were standing out on Sylia's patio, while she was inside making a call to a friend she thought could help me. It was dusk. There was a light breeze._

_"I wish you'd told me earlier," she grumbled._

_"I thought I could handle it," I said weakly, looking away. I felt so small at that moment. "It was fine at first."_

_"Well, it wasn't, was it! You're an addict! We all tried to tell you not to overdo it on that crap, and look at you now!"_

_"I was hurting! I'm always hurting!"_

_"You got through the summer just fine! You just couldn't wait till you got home, huh? No more random drug tests. Free to indulge as much as you want…"_

_"Shut up! It wasn't like that!!"_

_"Then how WAS it, Yume?!" she screamed. "Tell me how it was! You led me on to think you were doing ok in Sacramento, and I actually believed it. I was supposed to take care of you after you got shot, so tell me where the fuck I went wrong!"_

_"You didn't do anything wrong," I cried. "It was all me. It was everything. I couldn't…I couldn't handle it. Everything's just messed up."_

_"I know I couldn't do much for you when you were in the States, being an ocean apart. But damn it!!" My head snapped to the side, a sharp pain on my cheek as I felt her hand make contact with the side of my face I could actually feel. "I raised you better than that!!"_

_She had slapped me. But at the same time, the move didn't shock me at all._

_I held my cheek and turned away again, tears running down my face. "I'm sorry I'm such a disappointment, then."_

* * *

Emi and I didn't stick around much longer after Mom's demonstration of her guitar skills. About the only thing we did after that was show Emi the bedroom, since she was curious if we had shared a bedroom. She shook her head and said she didn't see how two people could've shared, but all Mom and I could say was that there wasn't really any other option.

Instead of my bed on the right-hand side of the room, there were Mom's other guitars and her amplifiers, a combination bedroom/jam room, with sheet music and rough drafts of lyrics scattered on the floor. From what Linna and Nene had told me, this was how it was set up before I was born. And apparently she'd wasted no time in reclaiming that space as soon as I had my own place. If she displayed any signs of so-called empty nest syndrome, it wasn't in front of me.

Emi didn't say anything after we left until we were at the first red light we encountered. I heard her lift up the visor and ask, "Do you not get along with your mom?"

"We used to get along great," I replied. "Once I told her I was addicted to morphine that all changed. I guess I let her down."

"How did you get addicted?"

"After I got shot I was in a lot of pain. I took it to help with that, but even after my leg got better, I just…didn't want to stop, I guess. Things got worse and worse, even though I kept telling myself I could handle it. But finally…Craig and Bert…they got me to see I needed help. And so I told Mom."

"And she's mad at you for asking for help?" She sounded puzzled.

"It's a little more complicated than that," I said with a heavy sigh. "I don't really want to get into it. She still hasn't…forgiven me for getting addicted, for 'letting' myself. I understand she's pissed at me, but I wish she wouldn't be."

"But you did get help, right? You asked for it, and you got it. Why would she still be mad? She should be happy you're better now."

"You'd think that…"

The light turned green, and Emi pulled the visor down before we were on our way again. We didn't exchange many more words the rest of the way to Linna's apartment. I was too focused anyway, too distracted by her few words. Emi hadn't been judgmental at all, even after hearing my glossed-over version of the story. Maybe even at her age, she knew to reserve judgment until she heard the whole story. Or maybe she really was just that naïve. I didn't really care either way. That just put one more person on my side. My aunts had all supported me; they'd been disappointed too, at first, but I had their support throughout the recovery process. But Mom…she just couldn't let go. I couldn't blame her. Part of me was still mad at myself too, even if the other part was ready with a laundry list of excuses for why I'd taken morphine.

_Just gotta give her time,_ I thought as I turned the corner onto Linna's street. _But damn it, I've given her so much time already. Even if she IS my mom, why does she gotta be so stubborn?! I wish she'd just drop it already!_ Ah, the downside of having Asagiri blood running in your veins.

The smell of asphalt greeted my nostrils as I pulled into the parking lot of Linna's apartment complex; it looked to have been recently repaved. After finding a spot to park, Emi and I climbed off, with her taking off the helmet again. I walked towards a ground-floor door, telling Emi this was her apartment, and knocked on the door.

"Yumeko!" Linna exclaimed, opening the door. "Not at the gym today?"

"It's her day off," Emi chirped. "She's showing me around."

I chuckled. "She means that I'm usually at the gym on my days off anyway, working out." I motioned to Emi. "Linna, this is Emi. Emi, this is Aunt Linna."

"Hello," Emi said, bowing.

"Nice to meet you," Linna said, returning the bow. "I hope you're not driving Yumeko up the wall."

"I don't think I am. And she's been more than kind to me."

"That's nice to hear." She stepped aside. "Gonna come in?"

"Yeah. Busy?"

"I've got a lunch date set with this guy, but that's not for another two hours."

"Oh boy," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Did you two already eat? I can whip up something if you want."

"No, that's ok. We had breakfast before we left."

"Ok." We all sat down on the living room couch, Linna crossing one leg over the other, adjusting her headband. "So what are you doing, just making the rounds, introducing her to everyone?"

"Pretty much. As long as she's staying with me, I figured everyone should meet her."

"Have you done anything in terms of looking for her parents?"

"I've tried, but Nene's busy and I don't have the skills or equipment she does. And obviously I can't bring her to work, so I've just left her at home."

"Entertained by the TV? That doesn't really make for a good education, or good entertainment, for that matter. She's not a pet."

"I didn't say she was!" I protested. "Anyway, that's what I'm doing today, just showing her around. Who knows, maybe she'll recognize something. I wasn't about to let her out by herself to wander around. Someone would be liable to snatch her up like she IS a lost pet."

"You know…" she said, leaning back, "I wouldn't mind if you brought her along to the gym. It'd give her something to do, in any case. Sitting around isn't good for you."

"See?!" Emi exclaimed. "I TOLD you I wouldn't mind doing Spinning classes all day!!"

I slapped myself upside the forehead. It seemed like she was making me do that a lot. "Seriously? You'd wanna do eight hours of almost non-stop exercise and dripping sweat? It's not as fun as it sounds. By the end of the day you'll be dying to get out of there."

"Give her a chance, Yumeko," Linna said. "She'll probably find something she likes."

"Maybe, but that wasn't a place I was planning on stopping by today. Don't feel like going by the Beehive today."

"Beehive?" Emi repeated.

"Yeah. Linna's gym."

She thought about it, then started to giggle. "Beehive. Hee! There's so many puns in that name I don't know where to start!"

Linna grinned proudly. "See why I call it that? Isn't it a great name?"

"Oh yes, it is!"

I rolled my eyes again. "Yeah, everyone thinks it's REAL cute. Same with Phoebe's, Linna's old gym. Hear the pun in that?"

Emi thought again. "Oh, I do. But Beehive is more creative. The pun in Phoebe's is sort of obvious."

"Why don't you stop by tomorrow?" Linna suggested. "I'll give you a martial arts lesson if you like, free of charge, on me."

"I was thinking about getting her signed up anyway," I cut in. "I told her she'd make an easy target."

"Anyone's an easy target if their guard is down."

"Or if they get a roofie slipped in their drink."

"That's not even remotely funny."

"Just saying, she's acting like I set out to get addicted, but that's the same as saying she was looking to get attacked. It's just not true."

"It's not, and they're two completely different sets of circumstances too. You need to talk it over with her."

"I'm trying, but she just throws it in my face. And I don't want to talk about it right now anyway. We already had a fight over it before me and Emi came over and Emi had to ask Mom to play a song on her guitar to get us to stop fighting."

"They looked like they were about to start hitting each other," Emi said quietly.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," I sighed. "Like I said, things between us are a little tense. Don't worry about it, it's not your place."

"But you're my friend. Somebody has to worry about you."

"I'LL worry about me," I said.

Linna stood up. "Well, I got to start getting ready for my date now, or I'll be late."

"Okay," I said, standing up, Emi doing likewise behind me. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Sure, unless something comes up before then. Nice to meet you, Emi."

"You too," Emi said with a bright smile. "I'll see you tomorrow too!"

"I'm looking forward to it!"

At my bike, as she was pulling on her helmet, Emi said, "I'm sorry if you didn't want me to butt in on your argument with your mom. But I didn't want to just sit there and do nothing."

"It's ok," I said. "What you saw is part of the reason I don't go over there much. I got into fights a lot at school, but getting into them with my mom is completely different territory to me. I can't just beat her to a pulp like I would any ol' SOB; I have to try to settle things the old-fashioned way, and to be honest…that's not usually how I do it. So it's taking some time."

She nodded and bit her lip. "So…where to now?" she asked.

"Now? We're gonna see a friend of mine."

* * *

After leaving Linna's house, I made sure to stop by the flower shop and buy a bouquet of daisies; I always had to make sure to have one with me whenever I went to this particular destination. I could hear the plastic crinkle as Emi held it close to her chest as I drove; I'd told her to make sure not to lose them, but to make sure not to crush them, either. Would she think I was morbid for taking her to a cemetery? I hoped not, but at the same time I didn't give a damn. I hadn't been here in a month, and it was about time to pay a visit.

Emi shuffled behind me as I led her down one of the main walkways towards a grouping of cherry trees, looking around morosely. I sighed and looked at the trees, remembering how beautiful they had been in March, when the petals were all pink and the slightest breeze made them fly off the trees, carpeting the ground in a soft haze of pink. Now that it was July, whatever leaves were left on the trees were dark, somewhat sad-looking.

I got down on my knees and placed the daisies in front of Michiko's headstone, brushing the kanji inscription on the stone with my fingertips.

"Michiko Ishiodori…" Emi read aloud. "5 March 2038…18 August 2055… Beloved daughter and friend…" She looked at me. "She was seventeen."

"Yes," I said quietly.

"What happened?"

"A guy was stalking me. Michiko found out, but he didn't want anyone getting in his way, so…he stabbed her. And then he stabbed me."

"That's how…you got those scars on your stomach." I nodded. "I'm so sorry."

"It's ok. It's not like…you could've done anything. For a long time, I…I blamed myself. I thought I should've known that something was wrong when I suddenly couldn't get ahold of her. I felt like I should've protected her. It took me a long time to accept that I couldn't. Shit happens."

"But it shouldn't. And not to someone so young. It's not fair." Emi dropped to her knees next to me. "You must've been hurting so much when you found out."

"…Yeah. I thought I was the one who was supposed to die, not her. She had a lot going for her. I like to think that if she were still alive, she'd probably be going to college to be a nurse or something. She really loved helping people out. She was there with me for a lot of my therapy sessions for my leg. After she died, I swore I'd get to the Olympics, just for her. But once those were over, everything just…went to hell."

"I noticed you have some pictures tucked in the mirror frame on your dresser," she said, voice choking up. "The girl with the blond streaks in her hair… Is that her?"

"Yes. That's her. And the girl with the tail and shades is Xania."

"The one you were talking with when I burnt the egg?"

"Yeah."

Emi wiped a tear from her eye, which startled me. Why was she getting so emotional? She hadn't known Michiko. "I know you would've done everything in your power to help her if you could, Yumeko," she said tearfully. "And I know you're helping me out the best you can right now, too. I'm so sorry for everything you've gone through. It must be so lonely, having to come here to visit Michiko, and to only be able to talk with Xania on the phone. Don't you have any other friends?"

"No."

"If I weren't here, is this what you would be doing anyway?"

"Probably. I usually practice at the Beehive on my days off, then every once in a while I come and give Michiko flowers, and sometimes I go to my special spot. It's a place I like to go to to be alone, to get away from everything. Being alone in my apartment isn't quite the same. It's not…tranquil like my special spot is."

"Where is this special spot?"

"That's where we're going to next." I looked at her. "Why are you crying? I don't think you knew her."

"I don't think I did," she admitted, "but…it's just not fair, that some people die so young. They're not supposed to. And it's obvious you were so close to her. I'm just so sorry. Part of me wishes I could have done something, but I know it's a silly thought. But you're not supposed to lose the ones you love. You're supposed to grow up together, grow old together. And she…went away, she left you behind."

"I don't blame her," I said softly. "It wasn't her fault, and it wasn't her choice. Lots of people were hurt when she died." I put a hand on her shoulder. "Emi, promise me something, ok? Promise me that when we find your family, when we find your home, that you'll live well. I love it that you're such a happy person. I want you to stay that way. Don't let life drag you down like it's dragged me down. Ok?"

Emi gave me a strange look, like she was confused by what I was asking, like she wasn't sure if she could live up to what I was asking her. But nonetheless, she smiled.

"Okay. I promise."

"Good. Michiko would have loved you, and you're more like her than you know."

"She's not here to take care of you anymore, so I'll do that for her. Someone has to look out for you, even if you say you can take of yourself."

I gave a weak smile. "Yeah…"

* * *

At a cemetery, it's only natural that you start looking around at other headstones, looking at how old or young other people were when they died. Emi had started to do that, after sitting with me at Michiko's grave. But since I'd wanted to show her my special spot, I had to drag her away, and after a few minutes driving down the street, we merged onto the on-ramp and got onto the highway, heading southwest.

"Wanna see a trick?" I asked.

"Sure!"

I grinned and sped up, kicking it up to 100 kilometers an hour as I weaved through traffic, several cars honking at me along the way but the sound quickly dying away as I left them in the dust. Emi squealed and laughed, and as we came to a bend, I leaned the bike down, so that we were only inches from the asphalt. She squealed again and squeezed me tight.

"Hey, watch where you're grabbing!" I scolded, laughing.

"Oops!"

Righting ourselves once the highway turned straight again, I weaved between a few more cars before I came to a clearing and was able to stay in one lane. Emi was still giggling, which made me smile. It didn't take much to make her laugh. At the same time, however, it caused a strange feeling to stir up inside me. I hadn't been able to laugh with anyone in a long time, not since I'd gotten out of rehab, not since my return from the other world, whereupon when Craig had finally made me laugh, he'd made a comment that I needed to laugh more. But I'd had nothing to laugh at, laugh for. But now, I had something of a friend, whose constant laughter was bordering on contagious. And at that moment, I'd realized something else, that I'd never taken anyone else to my special spot, let alone told anybody except for Linna. Wouldn't be special if everyone knew about it, right?

Traffic got lighter as we got to the outskirts of Tokyo, and it was then that I felt safe upping the speed to 140. The wind was starting to dry out my eyes somewhat, as Emi was the one wearing my helmet, but I didn't care. As I'd told her, this was my one oasis, my escape from it all where I knew no one could find me. It was here I didn't have to worry about arguing with Mom, or being a Knight Saber, or doing anything. I could just empty my mind of all that and just relax for a little bit. If it wasn't for the fact that I was a city girl and had my job – well, jobs, both of them – in the heart of the city, I might have just run away out here and never returned.

"Yumeko."

"Hmm?"

"There's a police car behind us."

I looked in the rear-view mirror, and sure enough, there was a cop car, lights flashing. "Ah shit. I was hoping they'd look the other way for once," I mumbled.

I slowed down gradually, and once I found a spot to pull over at, I did so, and a minute later, a woman officer stepped out of the car, small laptop tucked under her arm, and walked up to us.

She adjusted her sunglasses. "Oh geez. We meet again, Miss Asagiri."

"Hi, Officer Mikimoto," I groaned.

"We just run into each other all over Tokyo, don't we? You know the drill. Gimme your license."

"Yeah yeah." I whipped out my wallet and pulled out my license, handing it to the petite woman, who couldn't have been any bigger than Nene but whom I dreaded to see whenever I got pulled over.

"You know each other?" Emi asked.

"We sure do," Mikimoto chirped as she fed my license into the laptop. "I swear, I've probably pulled her over about ten times. This is the first time I've done so this far south though. Where are you two girls running off to?"

"She's showing me a spot she likes to go to to relax."

"An onsen?"

"No," I said. "Nothing stereotypical like that. Just a spot."

"Well, as long as you don't get pulled over again on the way back, it's fine by me," she said, printing out my ticket. She handed it to me, along with my license. "Because if you get one more ticket, your license is gonna get suspended. And you don't seem like the type who's keen on public transportation."

"I've used it."

"Yeah, but I'd miss seeing your little Ninja around," she joked, patting the front of my bike. "I'm surprised you haven't needed a new one yet, with the way you drive."

"I know how to take care of my things."

"Well, as long as someone in your family does!" She clicked her laptop shut. "Hopefully I won't see you around, but if I do…you know what's coming!"

"Yeah," I groaned again as she strode back to her car. A moment later, she drove by us, with Mikimoto waving cheerfully as she did so. "Damn it, she irritates me."

"Why?" Emi inquired. "She seemed nice."

I grimaced. "Because Nene used to work with her back when she was a cop! She talks with Nene, and then I don't hear the end of it from Nene for the next week! Dammit!!" I angrily started up the bike again.

Emi just laughed again, which made me let out a small chuckle in return as we got back on the road.

Another fifteen minutes later and we had just passed through Minobu, a suburb southwest of Tokyo. I nodded at an approaching hill, and felt Emi nod acknowledgment as I sped up the hill. Growing up in Tokyo, you'd think that I thought trees only grew by themselves, but once you got to the top of the hill, you'd quickly learn that wasn't true at all. The hill flattened out on the top, spreading out into a large forest, branches weighed down by the weight of the lush, green leaves that sprouted from them. There wasn't even a paved road, only a dirt one that cut through the trees, making a path. Once I stopped and turned off the bike, I could even hear birds singing.

"This is it?" Emi asked, pulling off the helmet and climbing off.

"Yup. And take a look behind you."

We both turned around. We were both at the edge of the forest, in a small clearing, and from up here, not only could we see almost the entire town of Minobu, but in the far distance, we could even see MegaTokyo. We really were away from it all.

"Woooow," she breathed. "This is a fantastic view."

"Isn't it? Too bad it's an hour's drive away from home, but that's what I get for living in the city."

She laid back on the grass, and I decided to join her. "How did you find this place?" she asked, looking up at the sky.

I smiled and stretched my arms out. "It was after I got out of rehab, but before I got my own place. Me and Mom had gotten into a major fight, and I decided I had to leave before I blew my top, so I left and just started driving, not caring where I went. And somehow I found my way here. It was December, so the trees were all bald, but…somehow, it just struck me as a beautiful spot. I stayed here, went through a few rounds of my tai chi, and I felt a lot better. Ever since then, I've tried to come out here when I feel stressed out. It just…offers something that Tokyo doesn't."

"Peaceful solitude?" she suggested.

"Yeah. You could say that. Yeah…peaceful solitude…" I closed my eyes and felt the breeze play against my face, sweeping my bangs back ever so slightly. Three years ago I wouldn't have really cared about this spot. But having been in Sacramento and having used the park there to escape to when I needed to be alone…maybe I was just craving something similar. I didn't know. It certainly offered something a morphine high hadn't.

As simple as it was, I'd known from the beginning that this was my own little slice of heaven. Here, I was just a normal girl dreaming normal dreams. That was all I could have ever wanted.

* * *

It was the middle of the afternoon by the time we got back into Tokyo, and we were both hungry, so I took Emi to a little place I knew that served soumen noodles. It was what I had been craving several days ago but felt like it didn't have enough substance to it. Emi almost choked when she first slurped up some of the noodles, which made me laugh, but even she had to admit with as hot as it was, something so damn cold was a welcome reprieve.

"A lot of the time during the summer you'll see me loading up on soumen and udon, anything with noodles," I chuckled. "It gives me a carb load before my workouts."

"But they're healthy," Emi pointed out, pointing her chopsticks at me. "And that's good too."

"Yeah, but they'll also make you gain weight if you don't work them off. I guess that's why there was that huge no-carb diet craze at the beginning of the century. I'm surprised it took as long as it did for those idiots to realize that wasn't gonna work, especially if you work out a lot like me. Protein bars only go so far as far as giving you energy goes."

"And these are so delicious too! How could you cut these out?"

"Now you see my point."

After we finished our noodles, we headed back outside into the dreaded summer heat. Emi winced and put up a hand to block the sunlight streaming down between two high-rises. I reached into my jacket and was about to pull out my biking gloves when, in the midst of the crowd, I saw a familiar face. One I didn't want to see.

"We're going this way," I said hurriedly, taking Emi by the hand. I started us walking the other direction, my feet urging us on faster when the voice belonging to that person called out.

"Hey! Babe!"

"Don't look back," I grunted to Emi, who of course turned to look over her shoulder.

"Who is that?" she asked.

"A not-so-secret admirer."

"C'mon!" Masahiro called out, running past us and stopping in front of us, blocking our path. "Is that any way to treat someone who's yelling for you?"

"Sure it is, if it's you," I retorted.

"Who's your friend here?"

"None of your business."

"Really?" He stepped up to her. "She's cute. A little young for my taste, but tastes can change."

To my surprise, Emi didn't try to hide behind me, or even step back. She stood her ground, her expression not changing. "You like Yumeko?"

"I've liked her for the past three and a half years. But she won't give me the time of day. She won't even let me touch her. She acts like I have cooties."

"Syphilis," I corrected.

"Oh, come on."

"Trust me, whatever you've got, I don't want, including your trouser snake. I'm sure I've made this perfectly clear by now."

"You're just afraid 'cause you're a virgin."

"I'm a virgin," Emi added.

"Emi," I groaned.

"Then you can both come to my place. I'll show you a fun time."

"But Yumeko just said she's never wanted to go to your place. So I'm sure whatever fun time you're offering isn't all that fun," she said. "And she's in love with someone who's not you. She told me that guys are jerks, and you seem like you're a pretty big jerk to not listen to her when she says no. From the way she's talked about Craig, he seems like a nice guy. You don't."

"Look at the little girl talk!" Masahiro laughed, leaning in. He patted her on the head. "She thinks she's so big!"

For the first time, I saw a frown cross Emi's face. "Go away."

"Hahaha! She's still talking big!" I cringed when I felt his other hand on my shoulder, patting. "Are you raising her to be a smartass like you? You're doing a good job."

What happened next went by so fast, I wasn't sure if I was seeing things, but the end result was certainly no illusion. In any case, when Emi saw Masahiro put his other hand on my shoulder, she wrinkled her nose in disgust. She reached up and grabbed the bastard's head, quickly spinning around, throwing his entire weight over her shoulder, and slammed him down into the sidewalk, actually making him bounce as he hit. I jumped back and yelped in surprise; everyone else that had been walking by us stopped and gaped in shock, jaws halfway to the ground.

Masahiro looked just as shocked. His mouth was half-open, his eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets, and a strange sound was coming out of his throat as he tried to get his breath back. "Ga…ga…"

Emi pressed her sandaled foot against Masahiro's forehead. "Yumeko told you not to touch her. When someone tells you not to do something, don't do it. Do you understand me?"

He paused, then nodded.

Emi removed her foot from his head and turned to look at me. "Are we going now?"

I had to take a moment to get myself composed, but I was still in shock. This little girl had just tossed that bastard, who probably was twice my weight, over her shoulder like he was nothing. What the hell was she made of?! "H…how did you do that?" I stammered. "Even I can't do that!"

"You can't?"

"Hell no!!"

"He was annoying you."

"I asked how, not why! I didn't know you could do that!"

"I didn't either," she said with a shrug. "It just came to me."

"And you say that so casually…" I gave my head a shake, trying to clear it. Had she really done that?! I know I didn't do it, and he certainly didn't end up on the ground with a potentially broken back by himself. But…this didn't make sense!

"You, uh, you sure you didn't pull anything?"

"Nope. I feel fine." She motioned towards the still-fallen Masahiro. "He might need a doctor, though. But I don't know any."

"Me either…uh…" I scratched my head and laughed nervously.

"Are you ok?" Emi asked.

"I just can't believe you did that!"

"Was I wrong?"

"No, no, but…a kick in the crotch would've worked too. But that…wow, he didn't see that coming! I didn't either!"

"So are we going home now?"

I let out another small nervous laugh and led her to my bike. "Y'know what? I wasn't sure if I should take you to Sylia's place, 'cause she's always busy and she's not as easygoing as my other aunts, but now that I saw that…I think she might really want to meet you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She'll really be intrigued…"

After lending her my helmet again, I pulled on my biking gloves, we climbed on, and in moments we were heading down the street, with several people still gawking at Emi in surprise. Emi doing that… It wasn't normal. I didn't even think Linna would've been capable of that, outside of her hardsuit, at least. Of course, I hadn't seen her in combat with a guy Masahiro's size, but still… This unnerved me, to say the least. Who the hell had I decided to take in?! This girl was something else.


	3. Hell in a handbasket

After clearing the security gate, I drove into the parking garage and quickly found a parking spot. I grumbled as I pulled off my gloves and stuffed them in the pocket of my jacket, Emi barely having time to secure the helmet to the bike before following me out of the garage and to the entrance to the Silky Doll. "I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner," I grumbled.

"Think of what sooner?" she asked.

"Of course Nene would've been the first logical person to go to. She's the hacker. But Sylia, she's the one who's got the big guns. She can help us figure this out."

"But Nene seemed like she was trying her best to find out information about me. What makes you think Sylia could find out?"

"I've watched enough crime shows with Linna and Nene growing up to know that when they can't ID a body, they usually find a clue that'll help them out. Like if an arm was broken and had screws holding it together, there's a serial number on those screws that they can trace, and find out who those screws were put into. Maybe there's something like that in you she can find."

"You mean she has a scanner or something?"

"Exactly."

"But just because I tossed that guy to the sidewalk…that doesn't mean anything, does it?" She looked confused. "You've been acting paranoid since then."

"LOOK at you! You're tiny! How can you do that if I can't, if Linna or my mom can't?! There's no way! You've got, like, no muscle on you! Unless you're a Boomer…" I chuckled. "That's ridiculous. Or you have cybernetic enhancements. Yeah, that's a laugh. I'm part metal and I don't have any superhuman strength, but I didn't want any. Just wanted to be normal, just wanted to walk again. That was good enough for me."

"I'd like to find out who I am," Emi admitted, scuffing her sandal against the sidewalk. "But if I did have family who missed me, wouldn't they be looking for me?"

"Yeah, but to be fair, I HAVE kept you inside most of the time."

"That's true, but…but I've decided something." She straightened up. "Even if there is family looking for me, I've decided I don't want them to find me. I like living with you. You're my family. You're my big sister! I wouldn't want anyone else!"

I sighed and smiled, scratching the back of my head. _A sister?,_ I thought. "I like you too, Emi, but you can't stay with me forever. It's already been four days. C'mon…let's go inside and ask Sylia for help."

She nodded sullenly and followed me inside. Aside from two customers looking at a five-for-5,000 yen sale on panties, there was only Nene, who was sitting at the register reading a magazine. She looked up when she saw us, and immediately brightened. "Oh, Yumeko, Emi!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk with Sylia."

"Is it about Emi? You know she's not going to have the time for that."

"Something happened a little while ago and I really need her to check Emi out!"

"What happened?"

"I flipped some guy over my shoulder," Emi replied nonchalantly.

"Masahiro," I clarified. "He couldn't even get up when we left."

Nene blinked and eyed Emi. "You did that? But you're so little!"

"I did," she insisted. "And Yumeko thinks it's strange. I don't know why."

"I already told you why!" I huffed.

"I still don't think Sylia's going to do it," Nene said, shaking her head. "She's got important business to worry about, and you know what I'm talking about."

At that moment, Sylia stepped out of the breakroom, and walked up behind Nene, eyeing me and Emi curiously. "What seems to be the problem?" she asked with a smile.

"Sylia, I need a favor," I said. "I need you to take a look at Emi here."

"Yumeko, I don't have time for this."

"Can we discuss it in the breakroom then? Let me make my case before you throw me out, ok?"

She sighed. "All right," she said, letting me step into the breakroom. After telling Emi to wait outside, we both sat down, Sylia lighting a cigarette. "What do you mean by take a look at your friend?"

"I'd like you to do a scan on her."

"A full-body scan?"

"Yes. I've had her for four days and she's been perfectly normal up till today. She flipped Masahiro over her head and made him bounce off the sidewalk! And you see what a waif she is! And you know even I can't pull a stunt like that!"

She took a drag. "And?"

"What do you mean 'and'?! You see her! You don't think that's just a little bit weird?! It freaked me out!!"

"You know people are capable of certain feats of strength when they're threatened."

"Masahiro wasn't even threatening us. He just put his hand on me and Emi took it a little personal. But that's not the only thing. Her personality…changed. She's been nothing but sweet, but when she was talking – threatening – Masahiro, she sounded…she just sounded ruthless. It wasn't her at all. And then she turned to me and asked when we were going home, like nothing happened. I thought…you could help me figure out just who she is."

"There was no build-up to this?" she finally asked.

"No. It was like a switch went off in her head, then turned back on when she looked at me again. It was kinda freaky."

"You couldn't find anything on your own?"

"Nene couldn't find squat. Look, I'll make it up to you!" I declared, standing up and planting my hands on the table. "I'll even repair Monsoon myself the next time I wreck it!"

Sylia put out her cigarette, even though it was only half gone. "I will hold you to that, whether or not I find anything on your friend."

"I know. Do a scan, draw blood, whatever. I just want to help her out."

"And put your idle fears to rest?" she added with a smirk.

"I wouldn't call them fears…uncertainty, maybe."

After telling Nene to watch the store for a little while, Sylia, Emi, and I headed down to a part of the basement separate from the hardsuit bay. It was a sort of pseudo hospital bay, which included the body scanner, which, since it was shaped like a tube, kind of resembled an old MRI machine. In ten minutes, Sylia had Emi changed into a paper gown and was explaining what she was going to do.

"Once I have you lay down, I'm going to sedate you for the procedure. I'm going to do a full body scan on you, to see if I can find any identifying marks that will help us find where you came from." She smiled. "We're here to help you, ok?"

Emi smiled. "Thank you, Miss Sylia. I appreciate what you're doing."

Sylia had Emi lay down on the table, and took something out of a nearby drawer. Seconds later, she was sticking a long needle in Emi's arm, injecting her with a clear fluid. Emi just blinked and didn't move, didn't make a sound, even when Sylia removed the needle. "You'll feel sleepy momentarily."

"Ok."

Sylia and I stood there until Emi's eyes started to droop, then slowly closed. We left the room and went to the monitoring room, where we could watch her through a screen. After pressing a button, the table slid into the tube, and monitors on the board lit up as they began scanning Emi for anything and everything that could possibly identify her.

I tensed my hands and fidgeted, feeling uneasy. As much as I wanted to keep Emi to myself, protect her from the world, I knew it couldn't stay that way. I'd treated her to a day of fun, and now we had to get back to the business of helping her find her home. What had she expected, anyway, when she was wondering if her family was looking for her? Was she expecting them to broadcast something on the news? Of course they wouldn't; there were far too many missing people in Tokyo to dedicate two minutes of a news slot to just one of them. Then the other families would be asking for their two minutes as well. Then the powers that be may as well have set up a network dedicated solely to telling stories of missing persons. However, most of those people didn't want to be found. In one sense, Emi didn't either. But on the other hand, she needed her sense of identity. All she had was her name, and someone she wanted to call her big sister.

I wanted to give her something more. I wanted to give her something that I personally wasn't able to give her.

I just had to tell myself it was for the best…

"We have a problem," Sylia declared, frowning. "I'm going to call Priss and Linna." She abruptly left.

"Huh? Sylia?" I blinked, startled, confused. Why would she leave like that? What was the problem? The machine wasn't broken. Emi hadn't woken up. What would make her want to call Linna and Mom?

I stood up and looked at the main screen on the board. "I guess she really did freak Sylia out. What did she see on here?"

Most of the text on the screen was gibberish, scientific speak I didn't really understand. But one line, right in the middle of the screen, caught my attention. It made my hands start to shake, my knees threatening to give out under me. I could feel beads of sweat forming on my forehead, and I licked my lips, trying to wet them, but in vain. They'd gone dry.

"She's not…"

Memories surged up inside my head. Times when I felt like I was being watched, the time I'd had a knife plunge into me four times, being left to bleed to death in front of Linna's apartment complex. Times I'd wanted to kill the culprit again and again. The time he showed me what it was like to kill my best friend.

My stomach lurched into my throat, and I had to practically dive for the trashcan, barely making it in time. I tasted the soumen noodles all over again as I hurled them into the trashcan, gagging, dry-heaving when I couldn't throw up any more. I felt tears come to my eyes, burning in the corners.

"No…she's not…she's…not a…33D…"

I'd thought the information Genom had on me was lost when we attacked the Tower in San Francisco. Nene had deleted it all, and left a nasty virus in its place. I'd seen her do it. There was no way she could have missed anything. Genom had sent Emi to kill me. I was sure of it. It couldn't have been a coincidence that I found her down the street from my apartment. Her memory loss? It was a joke! She was here to kill me!!

"Fuck no…no…" I cried.

I heard the door open. "Yumeko?" Sylia said, followed by a small gasp. "Are you all right?"

"She can't be a 33D!!" I bellowed, slamming my fist into the floor. "She can't be! Genom can't still know who I am! Nene got rid of all that! She made sure of it!! How do they still know?!"

She helped me to my feet, handing me a tissue to wipe my mouth with. "Calm down. Don't jump to any conclusions just yet. You mentioned she'd lost her memory when you first brought her up."

"That could be a farce! Just to pander to my good side!!"

"It's possible, but let me check her memory banks. I can find out how far back her memory goes, see if she has a mission implanted in her brain. I'll check on that, but in the meantime, get yourself a glass of water."

I reluctantly left the room, and went down the hall to get myself a glass. I gulped it down, the cool fluid soothing my raw throat, but not the raw memories that had popped up in my head at the sight of the line that said "MAKE/MODEL: ASSASSIN BOOMER, BU-33D." After all the hell Boh had put me through, I'd managed to kill him, and a year later, in the other world, I got a chance to do it again. I'd thought I hadn't needed to worry about Genom anymore after we hacked into their network and deleted their info not only on me, but from Mom so many years earlier. Of course it was likely they'd backed it up somewhere, but they hadn't tried a personal attack on me, not since then. I'd thought I was safe. But even now, over a year after that battle, maybe I wasn't so safe after all. I was still afraid, even now.

Even now, still terrified.

* * *

I was still shaking when Linna and Mom arrived. Nene had gone into the monitoring room to help Sylia run more scans on Emi, while Mom and Linna stood outside the door with me, making sure that I didn't go in there and try to kill Emi with my bare hands. The urge was certainly tempting. I'd taken care of her, let her stay in my apartment for four whole days. I'd befriended her. And to think, she'd had more than ample opportunity to kill me. Of course she'd seemed friendly! She was a 33D! She was supposed to seem harmless! Boh had seemed harmless too, and in the end I had never thought that I could hate someone so much. And now Emi…

"I never would've thought she was a Boomer," Linna admitted. "She just seemed like a sweet girl wanting love from someone."

"An affectionate Boomer. Who woulda thought," Mom quipped.

"I'm probably the first person she saw after she lost her memory, besides those guys who tossed her from the truck, if that's what really happened. Of course she latched onto me," I grumbled. "Damn it, just my luck to take in a Boomer."

"You didn't know," Linna said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You were just helping someone in need. If you knew, would you have still left her out there?"

"…I don't know. She's just…too human, too naïve to be an assassin. C'mon, she even blurted out to Masahiro that she was a virgin! Nobody's that forthcoming!"

"Well, if she was forthcoming enough to admit something like that in public, then I think she would have told you if she knew she was a Boomer. Someone who says something like that really has nothing to hide. I think Emi's been entirely forthcoming with you."

"At the same time, who'd admit they're a hired gun sent to kill you?" Mom queried. "And you'd be a hell of a bad hired gun if you became attracted to your target."

"Attracted?!" I protested.

"They both have a point," Sylia interrupted, standing in the doorway to the monitoring room. "But I'll agree more with Linna. There's nothing to worry about, Yumeko. Nene and I did a complete, thorough scan of her brain and memory bank, and there is nothing there that is older than Sunday night."

"Did…she really get dumped from a truck?" I asked.

"That was true, yes," she said, nodding. "The next question we need to answer, of course, is why the men in the truck would decide to get rid of a 33D who's apparently functioning perfectly, and without a mission. 33Ds are far too valuable to just set on the street and leave it to fend for itself."

"Do you think maybe those guys are going to come looking for her?" Linna asked.

"It's possible."

"But why would they ditch her to begin with?!" I said loudly. "They couldn't have ditched her because of something she knew, because her memory got wiped! There must be something else! Was she stolen or something?"

"Her memory was probably wiped for good reason," Sylia deduced, holding her chin in between her thumb and forefinger. "She knew something before that they didn't want her to risk spilling to someone else. And they dropped her off in a spot where they knew she could fend for herself until they needed her again. I'm only speculating at this point, but that seems like the most likely theory going on here. We need to figure out what it was that she was privy to before her memory was erased."

"Is there any way to recover those memories?" I asked. "Are they backed up in her brain somewhere?"

"No. I'll have to run her serial number, which I found on the back of her collarbone, to get her history, what missions she's done. We might get an idea then."

Nene came up behind Sylia and tapped her on the shoulder. Me and Linna both grimaced when we saw how pale she was. She was stark white. "S-Sylia," she said, her voice almost in a whisper. "You're gonna want to take a look at this."

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's Emi…"

Sylia followed Nene back inside, but since she didn't tell the rest of us to wait outside, Mom went ahead and followed her in. After a moment of consideration, Linna and I followed suit. Emi was still in the tube, but Sylia and Nene were both hunched over one of the screens on the monitoring board, mumbling amongst themselves and pointing. "I'm not sure I can take any more," I groaned. "What is it?"

"Take a look," Sylia said, moving out of the way. Me, Mom, and Linna leaned over and looked at the monitor. It was an outline of Emi's body, and the screen seemed to be indicating something was inside her.

"Looks like there's a mass in her stomach," Linna observed.

Sylia pressed a few more buttons, and brought up a more detailed image of the thing that was inside Emi. It was roughly oval-shaped, about a foot long or so, and looked to be warped, like it used to be a perfect oval but then got misshapen somehow. She nodded towards the screen to the left of the one we were currently looking at, and brought up an image of what was apparently the OMS.

"Holy shit," Mom gasped, looking from one screen to the next. "There's no…no way…"

"They do look similar," I agreed. "But…that can't be…"

"It's no tumor," Nene said sullenly.

"This, ladies," Sylia declared in a low voice, "is the OverMind Control System. Emi has fused with it. She has absorbed it into her body cavity."

"But…but how…?" I stuttered. This explained everything! The chef Boomer at the fast-food place suddenly going faster…and the Boomers we'd been fighting last night suddenly shutting down! Emi had been watching the news, so she knew about them! She'd made them shut down! But had she been aware of it at all? That's what I wanted to know. But of course she didn't. She couldn't have been… "God…I had it the whole damn time…shit!! Shit!!" I stomped my foot. "I've had the OMS for the past four days?! How the HELL?!"

"I don't think she's aware of any of this," Sylia said. "33Ds don't fuse with things on accident, so her absorbing the OMS was an entirely deliberate action. My guess is that ASI wanted to hide it so that Genom wouldn't find it."

"But ASI was in collusion with Genom," Linna pointed out. "So this really was an inside job gone wrong?"

"It would appear so. And the ASI building was destroyed when someone from Genom went to pick it up and it wasn't there."

"Hiding it on the streets. Genius," Mom said, shaking her head.

"So Emi…really was the small one on that tape," I mumbled. "She's the one who shot out the camera."

"And her memory was erased once she had the OMS inside her to keep from giving it back to Genom," Sylia finished. "It's an ingenious plan, but a fatal one." She pointed at the screen again, this time showing Emi's insides, with the OMS nestled comfortably against them. "Look how well her body has taken in the OMS. Her systems are interacting with it like it's just another organ."

"What are you getting at?" I asked.

"It's become a vital part of her being. I see no way of removing it from her without causing her systems to crash and shut down. In turn, the OMS is so warped and integrated into her that it, too, is depending on Emi's systems to function." Her eyes narrowed as she contemplated. "In effect…she IS the OMS."

"Are you sure we can't take it out?" I demanded. "There's gotta be a way, Sylia! Please!"

"A moment ago you wanted to kill her because she's a 33D. Now you want to save her?"

"I told her I would help her find her family. I sure as hell am NOT going to give her back to Genom!!"

"She's not going back to Genom. We're turning her in to the UN."

"How are you gonna explain THIS to them?!"

"The same way I just explained it to you," she said coolly. "I'm sure they're not anticipating having to deal with a living thing, but there's nothing we can do about it."

"But what are they going to do with her? She's not just a machine! She's…" I started to choke up; she really had become a friend to me. I didn't want to let her go, not even if it was a part of our job. No one would care for her as much as I did. "She's as human as a Boomer can get!"

"Yumeko, there's nothing else we can do," Nene sighed. "I'm sorry. If there was a way for us to remove the OMS and have Emi keep living with you as she's been doing, I'd be happy to. But Sylia's right. Her body's taken it in too well to ever get taken out…"

"…without her dying."

"Yes."

"Those guys could still try to come back for her," Mom spoke up, frowning to herself. "They better not have her marked."

"I didn't find any tracking marks on her," Sylia said. "The ASI people probably removed it. They may not be able to track her, but at the same time neither can Genom. They'll probably still look around district 6 though, as that's where they abandoned her. It's a good thing Yumeko kept her inside."

"So what now?" I inquired. "I guess you don't want me to take her home."

"No. She's staying here. I am going to call my contact at the UN so we can set up a meeting to hand Emi over ASAP. I'll have to explain the circumstances to them, and then we'll have to find a spot to meet at."

"But she's…not just a thing. She's not…"

"I'm sorry. This is the way it has to be done. Our job was to find the OMS, and we've found it. Now we have to give it to the UN—"

"I KNOW that!" I snapped. "I just…wish there was some way…"

"There's not. Tomorrow you're going to have to say goodbye."

I turned and looked through the screen as the table slid out of the tube, with a still-unconscious Emi laying there, unaware of what was going to happen, unaware of what she was, what she'd done, what she could do.

_Sorry, Emi,_ I thought. _I found your family. It's just not the kind you were hoping for._

* * *

I decided to stay the night at Sylia's place; there was no way I could leave Emi there by herself, to wake up and wonder where I'd gone. Even so, I didn't sleep well. It wasn't so much the fact she was a Boomer that shocked me; it was knowing that she was an assassin Boomer. She just didn't look the part. Her feat of strength against Masahiro wasn't so surprising now that I knew that little tidbit, but it still didn't put me at ease. Of course I hated 33Ds…but Emi was also my friend. And, she had no idea what she really was. Sylia had thought about explaining it to her, but ultimately decided to leave it up to me, as Emi was more apt to listen to me. She knew me.

"Did you find anything during the scan?" she asked me after breakfast. "All Sylia said was that everything went well but that you'd give me the details."

"Well…" I sat down on the couch, beckoning her to sit next to me. "Remember when you were watching the news the other night, and you saw the Boomers?"

"Yes. They were scary-looking."

"What were you thinking when you saw them?"

Emi gathered her thoughts for a moment before answering, "I saw them…and I was afraid that they were going to start hurting people. They were destroying everything. I was just hoping that somebody could stop them, like those Knight Sabers you mentioned. I didn't want to see anybody get hurt."

I smirked and let out a small chuckle. So that was how it was. "Well, they did stop. They shut down. You have something inside you that controls Boomers. When you wanted them to stop, they stopped. That's how that chef Boomer at the fast-food place sped up too, because you didn't want anyone to have to wait for their food. Right?"

"R-right, but…what do you mean I have something inside me? I control Boomers?"

"Yes, you can. You didn't know it, but you made those Boomers do what they did."

"I don't understand," she said, looking confused and a little bit scared at the same time. "How did it get inside me?"

"You absorbed it, before you lost your memory. You're a Boomer too, Emi."

"No…no." She shook her head. "I'm not one of those machines. I'm nothing like them. I don't hurt people!"

"Not unless they bug me," I quipped under my breath. "No, you're nothing like them. You're right. You're far more human than they are."

"But, but…how did they shut down? How do you know that? I don't think they mentioned anything about it on the news."

I sighed. "I…was there when they shut down. I lied when I said we were planning Nene's birthday party. I'm one of the ones who fought those Boomers."

"You're…one of them?"

"Yes." I balled my hands into fists to keep them from shaking. She was the third friend I'd spilled this to, and it never got any easier, not that I'd ever intended to tell any of them to begin with. They'd managed to figure it out though.

"Why couldn't you tell me?" she asked, tears welling up in her eyes.

"It's not something everyone's supposed to know about. I'm only telling you because we were hired to find the thing that's inside you. It was sheer luck that I was the one who found you that night."

"Can't you take it out?"

I grunted. "That's the problem. If we try to take it out, you'll die. You've fused with it so well that it can't even function without you."

"So…what are you going to do?"

"The United Nations hired us to find it. Now that we've found it, we need to give it to them. Do you know what that means?"

Emi mulled it over for a moment, looking like she sort of understood, but didn't really want to believe what she was hearing. I didn't want to, either; I couldn't blame her. "You're going to have to give me to them," she stated.

"Yeah…"

"What's gonna happen then? Will I be able to see you again?"

"I don't think so," I said softly. "And I don't know what's going to happen. It's not up to us to decide that. I'm just hoping that they don't treat you like a machine, because you're so much more than that." I gulped. "Emi…the guy who stabbed me was a Boomer too, the same model as you. When I found out you're a 33D, like he was…I didn't want to believe it. I actually wanted to kill you, because I was…I was afraid."

"Why, Yumeko?" she gasped, eyes wide.

"I thought…you were sent to kill me too. I thought your story of losing your memory was just a way to get close to me, get me to take pity and take you in."

"I wouldn't do that," she cried, throwing her arms around me. "I would never lie to you. I wouldn't!"

"I know. The you right now wouldn't, but if you had your memory back, I wouldn't be so sure… I'm sorry."

"I can't blame you," she said, pulling back. "I'm sorry it was someone like me who hurt you and killed Michiko. I understand."

"Boh was nothing like you," I said firmly. "He was a bastard who toyed with me for five months before making his move. Maybe it's just because you don't have a mission that you're so sweet, I don't know. I just know that as you are, you're more human than most people I know. I don't know if that's supposed to say something about the state of humanity, or just how close to human Boomers can get, but…it's true. You are. I don't want you to ever remember who you were in the past. That Emi is gone. The only Emi left now is the one I'm talking to."

"Well, that's a change," a voice said from the doorway. Emi and I turned, and walking towards us was Mom, her expression unreadable. But still, a smirk played at her lips as she sat down in the plush chair next to the couch. "That's not anything like you would've said two years ago."

"Don't get me wrong," I said, frowning. "If I saw Boh again, whether or not his memory was gone, I'd still shoot him dead. Call me biased, but that's what I'd still do."

Emi cringed. "I hope I didn't hurt anyone the way that he hurt you."

"You probably did," Mom stated flatly. "And there's nothing you can do to change that. Some say living well's the best revenge, and sometimes I think that's a crock of shit; those other families are still gonna be hurting no matter whether you remember what you did or not."

"Is that why you decided to raise me?" I asked dryly. "In the hope that you could cancel out my SOB dad's genes?"

"You're putting it too simply, but yeah, something like that, I suppose," she said, though I could detect a hint of a grimace tugging at the corners of her mouth. It was something she still didn't like to bring up, as evidenced by our exchange the day before. Lord knew I didn't like to dwell on the attempts that had been made on me in the past.

"So what're you doing here?" I sighed.

"Sylia wanted me to let you in on the plan for today."

"Ok, so spill. How're we doing this?"

"We're supposed to head to this diner in Ota district called the Red Baron. At 5 o'clock, this guy by the codename of Tora is supposed to arrive. One of us is gonna have to be sitting in the diner with Emi. Sylia told him what she looks like, so he'll walk up to whoever is with her, give a code, and we have to reply with a similar code."

"So what's this code?"

"He'll ask _Haben Sie mich vermisst?_ And in turn the other person has to reply _Ich kenne Sie nicht._"

"Sorry, I don't speak German."

"'Did you miss me?' 'I don't know you.'"

"That makes no sense."

"Doesn't matter. Don't think anyone else would know German anyway," she said with a small smile. "But yeah, someone has to sit there with Emi to facilitate the transfer, and everyone else is gonna be hiding out on the roofs of the surrounding buildings in their suits in case something goes wrong."

"I guess you knew I'd say it, but I'll sit with Emi," I volunteered. "I want to make sure she's okay."

"That ok with you, Emi?" Mom asked, turning to her.

"I wouldn't want anyone else," Emi replied, smiling for the first time all day.

"Good, good." She stood up. "I think the rest of us were going to volunteer Yume anyway. Now, Yume, you know not to go anywhere, right? We're gonna need everyone here when it's time to get going."

"I know," I said.

Mom took her leave, leaving me and Emi alone in Sylia's living room again. After a moment of silence, Emi turned to me again. "Yumeko…who's going to take care of you?"

"Huh?"

"I said that I would take care of you, since Michiko's gone."

"Don't worry about it. I can take care of myself."

"You fight Boomers. I'll always worry. What if you get hurt?"

I stood up and put my hands on my hips. "Emi, let me tell you something right now. I have been shot. I have been crushed, I have been stabbed, punched, kicked, blown up, electrocuted, slashed, and almost literally had my teeth knocked down my throat. There is nothing anyone can do to me that I haven't already been through," I declared. "I can handle it. I've seen more than you'll ever know."

I would be the first to admit I wasn't proud of my laundry list of injuries that I'd sustained since taking on this occupation, but it was part of the job, whether I liked it or not. Now came one of the hardest parts of this job that I'd ever had to do: I would have to give up a friend to an uncertain fate. The days leading up to the summit had been nerve-wracking; tracking down that crystal in the other world was hell; and now this…

This I couldn't bear. I was going to lose someone I'd truly come to care for. Emi had provided me with companionship I hadn't gotten in a long time. Now I would be alone again.

As would she.

* * *

It was noon. Five more hours until we had to be at that diner, and despite me saying I wouldn't go anywhere, I found myself wanting to head back to my apartment. The rest of Emi's clothes were there, and it wasn't like I'd be able to wear them. I wondered if I'd at least be able to pack them for her.

"Where are you wandering off to?" Linna inquired when she saw me heading for the elevator.

"Back to my place, to get Emi's things."

"We might need to head out sooner than planned, y'know. That's not a good idea."

"I know I told Mom I'd stick around, but she can't leave with just the clothes she's wearing."

"Can't go incognito with a duffel bag, either."

"She probably slept in her clothes last night. I should at least get her a fresh change of clothes."

Linna, the one who always changed at least three times before going on a date, could sympathize with that, and smiled slightly. "At least let me go with you, ok? Y'know, make sure we grab everything."

"Ok."

A few minutes later we were in Linna's car, pulling out of the parking garage. Traffic wasn't that heavy, which was surprising considering it was lunchtime. In about twenty minutes, we were heading into my apartment building, taking the elevator to my floor. I could only let out a sigh as I unlocked my door and we walked in; I half-expected Emi to still be there, to come running to the door and ask about my day. It'd only been five days since I took her in, and she'd already made such an impression on me. I had to admit, I was going to miss her.

"What's this?" she asked, picking up two articles of clothing that were sitting in the corner of my bedroom as I shoved some of Emi's shirts into a duffel bag.

"Oh, that's what Emi was wearing when I found her," I said.

"These are huge. They're made for a man. She must've been practically flashing you when you met her."

"That wasn't exactly something I was paying attention to," I groaned. "Anything would've been an improvement on those, though."

"Were you gonna keep 'em, or put 'em in the bag?"

"…I'm not sure. I forgot about them, actually."

"Well, I was just thinking I could keep them in case a guy stays over at my place…"

"Linna!!" I shouted, incredulous.

"Kidding!" she teased, sticking out her tongue playfully.

"No you're not."

"Well, it's not like you're gonna keep 'em around in case a guy comes over HERE, right?"

"Hmph. Of course not," I said curtly, flushing as I gave a toss of my head. There was only one guy I'd want over, and it didn't seem like that was going to happen, not in my lifetime.

"I'm just saying, these are nice. It'd be a waste to throw them away. So unless you're planning on wearing these as pajamas, I'll take them."

"Fine, whatever. Can we just finish packing? I think those are Emi's jeans by you…"

I frowned as Linna and I looked around and packed up whatever it was that belonged to Emi, which wasn't much. All she had were the clothes that I'd bought her, and she likely wouldn't even be able to take those with her when she left. I hated the unknown…but somehow, I doubted I'd get to ask this Tora guy what was going to happen to her, whether she would be treated well.

Fifteen minutes later we were back in Linna's car, with the duffel bag tossed in the back seat. Heading back towards Sylia's building, Linna started drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. I knew what that meant; usually when she did that, she was thinking about something and was about to open her mouth.

"You care for her, don't you?" she asked.

"Of course I do! What kinda stupid question is that?"

"It's just that outside of me, Sylia, Nene, and Priss, you don't really hang out with anybody else. I know there's Xania, but she's on the other side of the ocean. I just wish you had people here you could hang out with besides us. You need friends your own age."

"I had one. She's gone."

Linna made a face. "That's not your fault, and you know that. I mean, you spend your free time hanging out at work doing your gymnastics. When you're not doing that, you're traveling with your gymnastics team to competitions around the country. And then there's being a Knight Saber."

"I don't have time for friends," I said.

"You made time for Emi."

"That's different."

"I don't see how."

"She was a girl in need. If she hadn't been there in that alley at the moment I was going to look for dinner, we'd still be busting our asses looking for the OMS, probably for the next month. It was dumb luck that the one girl I decided to help out turned out to be the one that had the damn thing."

"Now, if she was a guy, would you have helped him out?"

"Now THAT is a stupid question," I stated.

"Would you have?"

"Hell no."

"Guys aren't so bad, Yumeko," she laughed, turning the car onto another street. "That whole spiel about kissing a lot of toads to find a prince and all."

"Maybe I just have high standards," I said flippantly. "But I'm not about to lower them."

"Doesn't hurt to test the water."

"You KNOW that's a bad analogy with me."

"I'm saying just because you go on a date with a guy doesn't mean you have to marry him. Nothing wrong with just hanging loose and having a good time."

"Well…I'm not about to try to have a good time with a guy I know is a toad. But it seems like all I attract are toads."

"Priss attracts a lot of toads too. But you've learned to deal with them."

"Yeah. With my knee. I'd rather have fun by myself," I spat.

"No one should be alone, Yumeko."

"Alone doesn't mean lonely. And I swear, if you try to hook me up, I won't jump in to save you when you get ambushed in battle."

Linna laughed and slid her license into the scanner at the parking garage gate. It beeped, and the gate opened up. She took back her license and drove in, pulling into an open spot as she said with a grin, "You've just got no sense of adventure at all!"

"Not your definition of it, no," I concurred wryly.

I followed Linna back up to the top floor of the building, Sylia's place, with the duffel bag hoisted over one shoulder. For not having much, the bag sure seemed a bit heavy, but I guess you could say no woman travels light, even the ones who don't have much.

"Is she gonna be ok, Linna?" I asked, worried all over again. "I just don't think she'll want to leave with some stranger if I'm not there with her."

"I can't say," she said, heaving a sigh. "It's not up to us. But I suppose there is an upside to her having the OMS."

"What's that?"

"She'll HAVE to be treated well," she said, grinning widely, "unless they want to risk her siccing a pack of Boomers on them!"

I'll admit, even I had to laugh at that, even if it was something I doubted Emi would do. Still, the image that conjured up was amusing. That thought also brought up another, more poignant one: if she could control Boomers, would that mean that the Knight Sabers wouldn't have to work anymore? Or could she only stop them if she knew they were out and about raising hell? I mentioned that to Linna as well, once we were back at the penthouse, and she didn't seem so sure it'd be that easy. Genom could probably make another OMS, she said, but that didn't mean they wanted this one running around, whereabouts unknown. It was understandable, but it left me wondering…

Was this going to be the end of the Knight Sabers? Or was this just going to be another lesson in Boomer Killing 101? With the turn this job had taken, I wasn't sure what was going to happen anymore. But still…

_Let's just get this over with already,_ I thought. _In another couple hours it won't be our problem anymore anyway._

* * *

So as not to be disrespectful to the UN guys, I suppose, Sylia had Emi take a shower and change into some of the clothes Linna and I had brought back from my place. She chose a short-sleeve white shirt, shorts, a light jacket with a hood, and her flower sandals.

"Does this look good?" she asked, modeling for me.

"It looks fine," I assured her. "You're dressed for the weather, at least. It is a little cool outside today."

"It's about time for you to get going," Sylia said, walking into the room. "The others are down in the bay getting ready. If you feel you can't do this, I can get one of them to do it."

"No." I shook my head. "I can do it. I should be the one; I'm the one who found her."

"Good. You remember the code, right?"

"Yeah. Tora'll ask me _Haben Sie mich vermisst?_ and I'll answer with _Ich kenne Sie nicht_. Then what?"

"Play it by ear, and follow his lead. But once he leaves with Emi, stay in the diner for a few more minutes to ensure everything is all right and as not to arouse anyone's suspicions, then feel free to leave."

"Should I go on my bike, or are we taking the bus?"

"I see no reason why you can't go on your motorcycle. That won't be a problem." She handed me a pair of earrings. "Put these on. They're communicators."

I grimaced and obliged, somewhat surprised that the holes in my ears hadn't closed up. I couldn't even remember the last time I wore earrings, so I'd assumed they had. "I'm not the earrings type, but I can put up with it this once," I said with a smirk.

"But they look cute on you!" Emi cooed.

I glared at her. "Say that word in reference to me again and you're dead."

She just laughed.

Five minutes later, after we'd grabbed something small to eat and I fixed my hair so that instead of a braid, it cascaded freely down my back, we were in the parking garage, with me once again lending my helmet to Emi, for what looked to be the last time.

"What are you going to do after this, Yumeko?" she asked, pulling it on.

"What do you mean?" I asked, putting my biking gloves on.

"Your life. Are you just going to go back to working at the gym and going there on your days off and visiting Michiko's grave?"

"Yeah. What else would I be doing?"

"I don't know, but it must be better than fighting Boomers."

"Anything's better than that," I sighed. "Most people don't have to fight Boomers. I just happen to be one of the ones that do. Sucks for me, but it ensures everyone else won't have to worry."

"But I worry. About you."

"And I told you, you don't have to. Right now, we're all worrying about YOU, making sure YOU are gonna be ok."

"Why did Sylia choose German for that code?" she suddenly asked. I blinked, confused and somewhat startled by the abrupt change in subject.

"I'm not sure it was Sylia's idea for the language. But if you think about it, it makes sense. What other language would you speak in a diner that's called the Red Baron?" I laughed.

Ota district wasn't a part of Tokyo I usually frequented unless it was to kill Boomers, so I took this as an opportunity to get to know the place. It was a military hub, with most of the branches of the military, to my knowledge, having headquarters here, which seemed to make it all the more appropriate that a diner with a name like the Red Baron would be located here. I was thankful Genom Tower wasn't here as well, but that didn't really matter, as you could see the damn thing from anywhere in Tokyo, and even for a ways away from it. It was ominous and looming, like Mt. Fuji, but somehow I doubted that Hiroshige would want to paint thirty-six different views of the Tower. It just wasn't as sexy as a real mountain.

The Red Baron was relatively easy to find. Above the door to the diner was "RED BARON" in bright red letters, with an outdoor patio decorated with equally bright red umbrellas to protect people from the sun or rain. And it was packed. It was a lot busier than I anticipated, but part of me figured that was a part of Sylia's plan, to do this in a public place. Better than meeting in some back alley at 3 AM, handing Emi off like some parcel of drugs or piece of merchandise. She was a person, at least to me. Doing it here would make it easier, on all of us.

"Yumeko…" Emi said as we both climbed off the bike, her pulling off the helmet.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm confused about something Priss said. Something about living well being the best revenge…"

"It confused me too," I admitted. "Maybe part of it meant that you living well, being good, might make up for you being a killer in the past, even if she admitted that was a crock."

"Whatever I did in the past, I'm sorry for it."

"I know. And there's nothing you can do about it now. I don't think we'll have a problem as long as you stay the way you are."

"Are you sure?"

I let out a low sigh. "…No."

"Head inside," I heard Sylia's voice say over the communicators. "Sit at the bar. Order something if you like, but don't go anywhere until you hear further instructions."

"Roger," I said. "Let's go."

Inside the diner was every bit as crowded as I expected it to be. Almost every table was taken, as well as almost the entire bar. TVs in every corner of the place were tuned in to sports or news, but the sound from them was drowned out by the noise the patrons of the place were making.

"Hello, ladies," the host said, bowing. "Just the two of you?"

"Yes," I said.

"Where would you like to sit at?"

"The bar, please."

She nodded and led us to the bar, where coincidentally enough, there were only two free seats left. Emi and I climbed onto them, with the copper-haired girl starting to immediately shift in her seat, looking uncomfortable. All I could do was make the same face she was making; I didn't like this any more than she did.

"Anything to drink?" the bartender asked.

"I'll have a Bud. She'll have a Coke."

A moment later I had a bottle of beer in my hand and Emi was sipping her Coke through a straw. I unscrewed the cap with one twist of my hand and took a small sip, making sure to go slow. I knew I'd probably chug the thing because of how uneasy I was, but that wouldn't do any good if the Sabers needed me for something. Somehow I doubted hardsuits and alcohol mixed.

"If only you could stick around," I said, letting out a wistful sigh as I traced my finger around the lip of the bottle. "I was gonna take you with me to the bar I go to after I get off work, maybe sing some karaoke."

"I would've liked that," Emi said with a smile. "I would've liked to meet Craig too."

"Heh. You're not the only one."

"Anything to eat, ladies?" the bartender hollered over the noise of the other people crowding the bar.

"Just some fries," I shouted back before turning to Emi again. "I could've shown you my old high school too. Huh, wonder why I'm thinking about that all of a sudden. I don't miss high school at all…"

"Just wishing we could've done more, that's all," she suggested. "Something to do together."

"What would you have wanted to do?"

"I don't know," she admitted, taking another sip. "I just wish I'd gotten to know you better, know more about when you were little. How your life was growing up."

"You know all you need to know."

I took another pull on my beer. Nothing over my earring communicators yet from Sylia. That meant I had to kill time somehow, but I wasn't very good at small talk, especially at a time like this. What the hell else were we supposed to talk about? The weather? The baseball game on the TV that neither of us were watching? The upcoming Worlds?

"Heh…I should be training for Worlds right now," I mumbled with a bitter smirk on my face, taking another drink from the bottle. "My scores weren't good enough though."

"They weren't?" Emi asked, looking surprised. "Why not? I saw lots of medals in your room, so you must be very good."

"It's my leg. Maybe the Olympics were as good as it was gonna get." I shrugged. "Doesn't matter. The Olympics were my life dream, and I got to go there. I'd sure like to go back, don't get me wrong. But in 2060…I'd be twenty-two years old. That's old for a gymnast, and by then, who knows. Maybe my leg'll be better than ever, and maybe it won't. But right now…life is okay. As long as I can still do the uneven bars, things are okay."

"You don't look like you believe your own words, though," Emi pointed out.

I gave a small nod and clasped my hands around the neck of the bottle. "Maybe if I tell it to myself enough times, I'll believe it. Take this day by day…yeah…that's all I gotta do." It wasn't something I usually did, but it was something I had to learn, or at least try to, in Sacramento. It was something I usually only had to do during my gymnastics competitions, take things one round at a time. If not, you'd probably trip over your own feet, or at least miss the balance beam like I'd done at Worlds three years ago. That had been embarrassing, but a lesson well-learned, and learned hard, even if I hadn't seen it at the time.

"_Haben Sie mich vermisst?_"

The voice cut through the noise of the crowd around me like no one else was even in the place. I yelped and practically jumped out of my seat, turning around to see a man standing behind me, at least a foot taller than I was, with a buzz cut, shades, and a leather jacket covering up his huge biceps.

My mouth opened slightly, then I closed it again. The code, what was the damn code again? "_I-ich…ich bin ein Berliner!_" I stuck out my tongue. "No, _ich kenne Sie nicht._"

He grinned. "I'm not from Berlin, and I'm not a jelly donut, though I'm sure this place makes some great ones. You do know who I am though."

"Yeah," I replied. "You're Tora."

"That I am. And you must be Emi."

"Yes," Emi affirmed, bowing her head. "It's nice to meet you."

"Same here." Tora borrowed an empty chair from a nearby table and sat down. "Are you old enough to be drinking that?" he asked, nodding towards my beer bottle.

"No, but that's not your business," I said, taking a sip to punctuate my remark. "Why, are you gonna give me a ticket?"

"That's not my line of work. Wouldn't be fair anyway, as I did my fair share of imbibing when I was younger than you. That would be hypocritical of me." He cleared his throat. "So, how is the food here anyway?"

I reached for the fries, which had been sitting there for several minutes but that I'd completely forgotten I'd even ordered. "Edible," I determined, munching on the lukewarm fries. "Want any?"

"No thanks, I ate. But I don't have a lot of time. Busy day, you know. Did you eat, Emi?"

"I'm ok," she said quietly.

"What's wrong?" I inquired. "You don't look so hot."

"My stomach hurts again."

"I wonder what's up with that," I wondered aloud as she grimaced and put her hands over her stomach. "It did that the other day too."

"I can give her something in the car," Tora said, standing up. "Emi, are you up for a little ride?"

"I think so," she said.

"Good, good. We ought to get going then."

I felt a flutter of panic in my chest. "Uh…need me to walk you out?" I offered hurriedly as Emi slid off her stool.

"That won't be necessary, dear. Just stay and finish your beer and fries."

Emi looked around nervously as I grimaced. I wasn't sure if he was being genuinely nice, or if he had to be because of us meeting in such a public place. "Is she going to be ok?"

"Emi? Of course. Are you worried?"

"Yes," I admitted bluntly.

"I understand, but she's special, and I'm sure you know that. At the same time, she's no ordinary child, but you have my word she will be taken care of."

"She better be," I warned.

Tora pulled a phone out of his jacket pocket when it started to ring. As he opened it up and answered it, I took a look at Emi. She was still looking around, looking confused about something. "What is it, Emi?" I asked.

She didn't answer, her gaze fixed on something across the diner. I followed her gaze, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary besides a small table nestled against the wall that wasn't presently occupied. "I don't see anything. What're you looking at?"

Tora put away his phone. "That was my boss," he said. "We really must get—"

"GET DOWN!!" Emi shrieked out of the blue, diving at me, shoving me off of my stool. I started to yelp in surprise, but my voice was soon lost in the boom that followed as the world around us blew up.

In midair I found myself being thrown against the bar, Emi shielding me as gravity seemed to have lost its effect. Everything was in midair; the patrons of the diner, the glasses, the tables, dishes, everything. Fire and black smoke filled the place, as did the residual sound of the explosion and of shattering glass, or what I could hear of it, as I wasn't sure if my eardrums were still intact.

I lay there, crumpled against the bar for what seemed like forever. I wasn't sure if I'd been knocked out or not, but when I finally dared to open my eyes, all I could see around me was a dark haze of smoke, what I could make out of the diner beyond that no longer resembling a diner. The wall that Emi had been looking at was no longer there; instead, there was just a large hole, giving us a glimpse into what had used to be the flower shop next door. I coughed and turned towards the entrance to the diner; the door was off its hinges, and the windows were completely shattered. I could make out the sounds of people screaming as they ran, but they only came from outside. No one inside the place was making a damn sound.

"Are you ok?"

I looked up at Emi, who was staring at me, worried, still with her arms around my body. She had protected me.

"What the hell?" I coughed again and sat up, rubbing my cheek. "The place just got blown up."

"I thought I saw something on the other side of the diner," she said. "But…"

"What about Tora?"

Emi gasped; she had forgotten about him, as had I. We both turned to look at where he had been just before the explosion, but he wasn't there. Emi turned to look behind her, and there he was, crumpled against the bar, bleeding from his ears, eyes wide open, unblinking, his shades having been lost.

"Damn. He's gone." I adjusted one of my earrings. "Sylia? Do you copy?"

I only got static. I pulled both of them out and yelled into them, but again, only static. I cursed again and tossed them to the ground. "Nothing. We gotta get out of here."

"Tora's dead and that's all you say?" Emi asked, looking like she was ready to cry. "That he's gone?"

"I'm sorry, but look at him. We can't do anything for him." I gasped and looked at her. "What about you?"

"There's something sticking in my back, but…"

I had her turn around so her back was facing me. Large splinters and small pieces of wood were sticking out of her back. I pulled them out, and amazingly, she didn't wince or cry out. If she were a human that would have been quite a feat, but considering that I'd seen Linna clock Boh upside the head with her baton and leave him unfazed, I couldn't say it surprised me that she didn't make a sound.

"I think somebody knew we were here," I surmised. "C'mon, we gotta get out of here."

"Where?"

"Through the back!"

"Why would somebody blow it up if we were here?"

"Because that somebody wants YOU!" It made sense that the bomb or whatever it was had been on the other side of the diner; it was the only way to make sure Emi would stay intact. Hell, not much else was intact in this place besides her, me, and the bar we'd been sitting at and were now crouched by. Standing up, I hurled myself over the bar, with Emi quickly following suit as we made our way back to the kitchen, where pots and pans and foods in various states of cooking were scattered on the floor, the stove along the side wall in flames. I looked around quickly; where was the damn back door? A moment of wandering around, and we found it, wide open, as the people cooking had most likely fled.

"This way!"

We found ourselves in the alley behind the diner. Trash cans were turned over in the panic, and as I looked down both ways, I wasn't quite sure which way to head. I winced and rubbed my head; I must've hit it when I was thrown against the bar. "Stomach still hurt?" I asked.

"Huh? Uh, yeah, why?" Emi asked, confused.

"It was hurting before, when I went out to fight those Boomers that shut down. It must've hurt because somebody was accessing the OMS. It stopped when you wished for the Boomers to stop moving, right?"

"Y-yeah…"

I heard another explosion, to the left of us. I could see smoke rising into the sky, with car alarms blaring as people screamed and ran by. It was smaller, which told me it wasn't a real explosion. It had sounded mostly like crunching metal. "Damn. Okay, we're NOT heading that way!" I decided, pulling her down the other way.

"What was that?" Emi asked.

"Probably a Boomer. Just wish for it to shut down!" I quipped, turning into another alley. I couldn't figure out how to get out of here. I knew I had to find Mackie's van, but damn it, where was it? Which way was it? I had to get Emi to safety, get my suit…

Halfway down the alley there was an opening to another one on the right. A tall man stepped through, into our alley, tall and muscular like Tora was. This guy, however, was brandishing a gun. I stopped Emi, and we both backed up. I had started to reach into my jacket when he turned and saw us.

"Ah." He grinned, and before I knew it, he was only an arm's-length away from us. "So you've been taking care of Emi for us."

"He's one of them," Emi whispered, trembling. "He shoved me out of the truck!"

"He is, huh?" I said, turning back to him. "You could've given her something warmer to wear, y'know."

"Does it matter?" He took another step forward. "I'll be taking her off your hands now."

"No you're not," I declared in a firm voice. "She's staying with me."

"Maybe you didn't notice I've got a big fucking gun in my hand," he hissed, starting to raise his arm.

I beat him to it. I pulled my gun out of my jacket, pulled back the slide, and aimed. Without blinking, I fired, feeling drops of blood land on my face as I shot him directly in the chest, the gunshot deafening, but only for an instant. The man stumbled backward and dropped his gun, putting both hands over the wound as he struggled to form words.

"You…you shot him!!" Emi yelled, putting both hands over her mouth as the man finally collapsed.

"C'mon!" I barked, grabbing her again, trying to ignore the faint nauseous feeling that had started to rise in my stomach as we went down the alley the man had come from. Those ASI guys were here, and they'd apparently brought company in the form of Boomers to help them out. I knew we were in big trouble if I couldn't find the damn van. My gun wasn't going to be enough.

I could hear more explosions in the street as Emi and I darted through another alley. By now, I was just hoping to get as far away as I could, even if the van likely wasn't in this direction. As long as Emi and I got away, it would be okay. But at the same time, I could hear voices yelling behind us, and the sound of running. "Shit," I cursed. "They're on us."

I liked to think I was a fast runner, and part of me and hoped they'd stop and take care of their fallen comrade – anything to give us some breathing room – but it wasn't that easy. Either they didn't see him, or ignored him completely, as the sounds of feet pursuing us only got closer. I came across yet another alley, and pulling Emi behind me, I turned on my heels and darted into it, in the process letting go of her hand.

Halfway down the alley, I could see a guy walk up to the end, blocking our path. I skidded to a halt, gripping my gun in my hand, ready to use it again, when I heard an electric jolt, then a scream behind me. I turned around, just in time to see Emi collapse to the ground, a second guy standing there, brandishing a stun gun.

I probably could've tried to defend myself, try shooting at both guys even if I went down in the process. But instead, I had a human response. I ran for Emi.

"E…Emi?!" I took her in my arms, patting her cheek. Nothing, not even a moan. She was unconscious. And we were cornered.

"Emi, it's ok," I whispered, rocking her. "I'll get you out of here. We'll get out of here."

"You should've just kept running," the guy who'd blocked my way advised, a skinny guy with ratty brown hair and a pointy chin. "I would've let ya go right by me. The brat's the one we want."

I gripped Emi tightly, glaring up at him. He had his gun aimed right at my face. I shook my head and said, "No. There's no way in hell I'm letting you have her."

"You caught my friend in a good mood," the guy with the stun gun said, bulkier than the other guy, a black mustache and beard covering his leathery face. "He normally would've shot you on the spot."

"Hehe, that's right," the skinny guy cackled, aiming again. "Drop your gun."

"What?" I asked.

"I said DROP your gun, NOW! I've got you in my sights right now, so you damn well know I can kill you before you can even lift it up to take aim at me like you did with Bob."

"Oh, your friend, right?" I said dryly.

"Yeah." He cocked the gun. "DROP IT!"

I took one arm away from Emi, the one with my gun in it. Still glaring at him, I set it down slowly in front of him. "Now shove it towards me." I frowned and did so. "That's a good girl," he said, picking it up. He looked over every corner of it. "A Spitdevil. Very nice. And very illegal."

He grinned and took aim at me with it. "Thanks for the gift," he said with a grin before pulling the trigger.

I just kept my glare on him, taking silent amusement in his befuddlement when the gun failed to fire. "A fingerprint reader. That's nice," he growled. "Real cute. No wonder you didn't look terrified. You thought you could play me."

I drew Emi closer as both men drew closer, now standing directly over me. Now would have been the perfect time for a Knight Saber or two to come help out. But no one came. I sucked in a breath and looked at Emi's unconscious form. I had to get her out of here somehow, but it was increasingly apparent I was on my own here. And with me being both outnumbered, outgunned, and cornered, I was screwed. And with her being out like a light, I couldn't get her to stop the Boomers either.

"She told me she was shoved out of a truck," I said, looking up at them. "And if you're her family coming to look for her, shocking her with a stun gun is a strange way to tell her you missed her."

"She would've been trouble," the bearded guy replied with a cocky shrug.

"You're lucky if you didn't short-circuit her…" My eyes went crossed as I realized what had come out of my mouth. The two guys noticed, too; they both went wide-eyed and looked down at me. "Oh crap…"

"What did you just say?" the skinny guy inquired in a foreboding tone. "Yo, Bruce, I think the kid knows something about our kid here."

"I'd say so," Bruce agreed. "I say we take her with us."

"It was…a figure of speech," I stammered. "Uh, y'know, just a saying…"

"Yeah, a saying," the skinny guy mimicked. "I think we're gonna have a lot of fun with you."

He made a move with his arm. Instinctively I reached up to block it, only to have something very hard slam into my hand, knocking it out of the way on its way to hitting me across the cheek, under my eye. I yelled out and fell back against the brick wall of the alley, the new welt on my cheek burning horribly. I winced and put my hand over the wound, reaching out with my other hand for Emi, when Bruce went and scooped her up. "Uh-uh!" he chided, wagging a finger at me. "She's mine. Nezumi, take her down."

Nezumi grinned and brandished his gun, tucking mine into his jeans. My hand went from my cheek to my other hand, cradling it, as the pistol-whip felt like it had broken my pinky finger. I yanked it back into place, biting my lip as a jolt of pain shot up my hand and right up my arm. "Son of a bitch!" I growled, getting up. He didn't give me the chance. He slapped me across the other cheek with the gun, sending me tumbling back down to the ground.

"Girls kick, bite, and scratch," Nezumi quipped as he yanked my arms behind me and cuffed me, one foot on my back to keep me from getting up. I hollered in pain as he grabbed my wounded hand and put the cuff around it. "I don't like dealing with that."

He stood me on my feet, grabbing one of my arms with one hand and taking a fistful of hair from the top of my head in the other. He yanked on it, pulling my head back, making me cry out. "We're going for a ride. Start walking."

I had no choice; he pushed me forward as he walked, making me walk along with him. We went down the alley, making two or three turns through them before we finally came to a street, where a white van was waiting by a parking meter.

"Still have time to spare, too," Nezumi laughed as Bruce opened up the back of the van and tossed Emi inside like a sack of potatoes.

"Emi!" I yelled.

"See, we'll be nice. We'll let you sit with her." Soon, I followed, as Nezumi forced me inside the van and shut the doors behind me. A moment later, he and Bruce got in the front seats, Bruce at the wheel.

I looked around. It was empty in the back of the van, except for a toolbox and a ladder hitched up on the side. Just as I tried to sit up, I yelped and was sent rolling across the back of the van as Bruce started it up and tore down the street.

"Sorry!" he laughed.

I coughed and got up on my knees, my pinky finger throbbing, the welt on my left cheek still burning, the one on my right not doing anything, as I couldn't really feel it. I turned towards Emi. She was sprawled out, still not showing any signs of movement. I sighed.

_We're in deep shit now,_ I thought. _Emi, wake up, kick their asses like you did to Masahiro. Sylia, Mom, do something._

But nothing happened.

"We'll get out of this," I swore. "I promise."

"Haha, yeah, you tell her that!" Nezumi cackled. "But she's home now, babe! She is comin' home!"

This wasn't the family, or home, I would have wished on Emi, or anybody. I grimaced and tried to ignore his piercing laughs. Fuck him. I had to figure out a way out of this.

Somehow…


	4. Anywhere but here

Unlike the last time I'd been captured like this, taken away in a semi, I wasn't in my suit, so there was no way for me to contact the Sabers or my Motoslave. I inwardly cursed myself for throwing away those earrings. Even if the communicator part was useless thanks to the explosion in the diner, there was probably a tracker. If only I'd thought of that. God damn it.

"Why isn't she waking up?" I demanded. I had no idea how long I'd been sitting in the back of the van, and it seemed like Bruce and Nezumi had been driving around for hours. Surely their hideout wasn't in some place like Kyoto or Nara.

"She'll be fine," Nezumi said, dismissing me. "She's taken harder hits than that."

"People don't get knocked unconscious from a stun gun!"

"They might if you hit them in the back of the neck like Bruce did. She left herself wide open!" He let out a loud cackle. That was really starting to grate on my nerves. I looked at Emi again, seeing if she was going to wake up. But like before, she didn't budge.

A short time later, Bruce pulled up into a garage. He climbed out, as did Nezumi, and a moment later, the back of the van opened up. Bruce hoisted Emi over his shoulder and took her inside, while Nezumi dragged me out, grabbing my hair again as he forced me inside behind Bruce. I tried to take a look behind me to see if I knew where we were, but all I was able to see was that it was nighttime. Pitch black, which meant it was at least nine o'clock. We'd been driving around for almost four hours? Where the hell WERE we?!

Nezumi pushed me to the ground, cracking his knuckles. "We doin' this yet?" he asked Bruce, who set Emi down in a corner by a table and some chairs.

"Let's at least take the time to get acquainted," he said with a grin. He looked down at me. "As you may know, I'm Bruce, and this is my partner in crime, Nezumi. He's a bit more…hands-on than I am. And you already know Emi." He glanced back at her for a moment before returning his focus to me. "Now, what's your name?"

I said nothing.

"Come on, I know you have a name. Of course, we can always give you one if you don't want to say anything. Bitch has a nice ring, don't you think? Yeah…we'll just call you bitch. Now, bitch, do you have a name?"

"Go to hell," I snarled.

Nezumi took a small device out of his jacket pocket and started to fiddle with it. "We're not gonna need that, Nez," Bruce said.

"Sure we are," he retorted, grinning. "I noticed something about the bitch when I whacked 'er. The second time, she didn't scream or do shit."

"So?" I spat. "Maybe you didn't hit me as hard the second time."

He aimed the device, no bigger than a remote for a TV, at me. It started to beep. "I'm just curious is all…"

Nezumi and Bruce looked at the screen on the device for a moment, seeing what would come up. I wondered what the hell it was. Was it scanning me? Nezumi's cackle confirmed it as he looked at me with his squinty eyes again. "Haha! You're only 95 percent organic?! Now that is awesome. No wonder you didn't do anything when I hit ya the second time. You've got a plate in that cheek!" He walked towards me and nudged my sleeve-clad leg with his foot. "Lotsa metal in this leg too."

"How is that interesting?" I flatly asked.

"Means you're a tougher broad than I thought. Now, I'm curious…" He grabbed my leg and pulled down the sleeve. I started to struggle, but he grabbed the leg and held it firm. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" he exclaimed, feeling the scars on my leg. His touch made me cringe. Leathery hands. "Look at this, Bruce!"

"She took a high-caliber bullet to the leg," Bruce surmised. "Not enough to take her leg off, but close. I don't think meeting us is the first time our guest has run into major trouble."

Nezumi caressed my leg briefly before turning his gaze to the rest of me. "I wanna see if she's got more!"

He reached for my shirt, yanking it up. I panicked and screamed, kicking him in the stomach with one leg, then the face with my other as he stumbled backwards and landed on his ass.

"Fuck!" he spat, holding his nose as it bled. "Bitch!"

I laid there and panted, my heart going a mile a minute as my body trembled. He'd tried to touch me! Bruce just smirked. "Now you left YOURSELF wide open, Nez. And you were right. I saw quite a collection of scars on her stomach just before she kicked ya."

Nezumi grabbed a towel and held it to his nose, blood dripping on the concrete floor. "Heh. No matter," he said, glaring at me. "I'll have fun with her later."

"Go clean up," Bruce suggested. "I'm gonna have a chat with her."

While Nezumi went to go straighten out his nose, Bruce got down on his knees and sat me up. I tried to pull back when he grabbed my shoulders, but ultimately could do nothing as he got me up on my knees and adjusted my sleeve.

"I see why you wear that thing," he said, looking at the sleeve. "Don't like the scars?"

"Getting shot hurts," I spat in reply.

"I don't doubt that. I've taken bullets to the back myself. Almost got paralyzed. I bet you put yourself through hell to be able to walk again. A wound like that can't be easy to come back from."

"It's not."

"Mmm." He took my chin in his hands, me trying in vain to pull away. "Very pretty eyes. Red eyes are a rarity. They fit your personality." He got quiet. "Eyes tell people a lot of things. They tell me the person's life story…"

_He's lying,_ I thought. _He's just trying to get to me._

"You're very protective of little Emi over there. But despite her stature, she's perfectly capable of taking care of herself."

"Didn't seem that way when I found her."

"I see it in your eyes. You care for her a lot, and judging from earlier, you could care less about your own life when it comes to protecting her." He looked into my eyes again, holding my chin firmly to make sure I couldn't turn away. "Such a harsh gaze. You've seen…a lot of tragedy. You've lost people close to you. Is that why you care for that girl so much?" I frowned in response, but he was unabashed. "That look tells me you have," he said.

"Who hasn't?"

"Who hasn't, indeed," he concurred. "That leg…you don't get a wound like that from fighting with a gang. You've had a run-in with a Boomer before, maybe not recently, but obviously within the last few years."

"Those Boomers outside the diner…" I growled, trying to get him off topic. I didn't like thinking about my leg, let alone how it got this way. "You sent them."

"Oh, that wasn't us," he said. "That was all Genom. The company Nezumi and I work for isn't in the business of Boomer terrorism."

"If your company's part of Genom, you ARE in that business," I snapped.

"We're keeping little Emi safe from them," he declared, though I could hardly believe that. "They want her too. And fortunately you kept her safe. I really must thank you."

"Save your breath. She's staying with me. You're not having her, and neither is Genom. She's just a kid anyway. You're wasting your time."

He grinned. "Oh, but she's NOT just a kid. And your comment about us short-circuiting her only proved that you know she's not, either. I really want to know, how did you know that?"

"I said, it was just a saying. She might be weird, but that doesn't automatically mean she's a Boomer. I've gotten called a Boomer even if the only part of me that's metal is most of my leg and my cheek!"

"I don't think you're telling me the truth," he said, wagging his finger as he stood up. "If you care about your own well-being, you'd best tell us what you know and how you know it. Or you'll be in for some real pain."

"You don't KNOW what pain is!!" I yelled.

"But you will, soon enough. Nezumi!!"

Nezumi came back into the room, wads of tissue in both nostrils. "Yeah?"

"Put her in the closet."

"I hear ya." He left the room and came back a moment later with a black bag and some earplugs.

"What the hell?" I said to myself before I found myself pinned beneath Nezumi, stuffing the plugs in my ears. Instantly, the world went silent; even when I yelled in protest, I couldn't hear myself. And when he pulled the bag over my head, I went blind as well.

I kicked as I felt him pick me up, but it was futile. I felt myself only kicking air as I found myself thrown over his shoulders, his body bobbing beneath me as I realized he was walking. Another moment later and I found myself thrown to the ground again, and when I went to throw myself in his direction, I bounced up against something, my forehead hitting something that was sticking out against that other something. A doorknob. I really was in a closet.

"W-what is this?!" I demanded, but I heard nothing. I felt my voice work, but I couldn't hear it. What was this, anyway? What purpose was this supposed to serve? Cutting off my sight and hearing, what was that supposed to do?

Suddenly, I had a feeling in my chest that I hadn't felt in a long time. Fear. I swallowed hard and curled up into a ball, squeezing my eyes shut, which didn't do anything as it was just as dark when I had them open. Where were the others when I needed them most?

I didn't like this at all. I just wished someone would come and get me out of here.

"Help me…somebody…" I whimpered.

All of a sudden, I felt very alone.

* * *

_"Why do you suppose you did it?"_

_My head jerked up, and I stared at the lady in the other seat. The lady Sylia had called and asked to help me. My de-facto therapist. "Did what?" I asked, unsure of the question._

_"Why did you start buying hydromorphone in Sacramento? Was it the pain in your leg caused by how rainy it was that night? Was it the pain of knowing you couldn't stop Sara from getting into that accident? The pain of knowing you couldn't bring Michiko back?"_

_"STOP IT!" I screamed. "It's all pain! What does it matter what kind I had, huh?!"_

_"What were you feeling when you decided to start taking it again?" she asked again. "I need to know."_

_"It doesn't matter how I felt. I took it, and I got addicted."_

_"It matters a lot, Yumeko. I need to know what factors were at work when you let yourself get addicted."_

_"I didn't let myself!"_

_"Are you sure?"_

_"I didn't take it every day! I only took it when I needed to get away for a while!"_

_"And the more you took it, the more you felt you had to get away, right?" She smiled. "Being high is a pleasant feeling. You're happy, you can forget everything…"_

_"It helped with my leg!"_

_"And your mind," she added._

_I shook my head and stood up. "You think you know me so well? So TELL me how to feel better!! Tell me how I can do it without going back to that white bottle!"_

_"I can tell you all I want, but if you don't do it, it's no use." She pointed with her pen. "Now sit down. We're not going to leave until we get to the root of this. I want to purge you of this problem, help you deal with it head-on."_

_"I can't," I mumbled, clasping my hands together, tears burning in the corners of my eyes. "Please, don't make me deal with it right now. It's too much. I've already let everyone down with what I've done. There's no way to make it up to them now."_

_"Yes, there is. Get better, with me right here with you."_

_"Cecilia…"_

* * *

I had no idea how long I'd been kicking at the door. I couldn't hear it, but I could distinctly make out the feel of the door rattling as I thrust my feet against it. But no matter how hard I kicked or how long, that damn thing wasn't budging an inch. The frame must've been reinforced steel or something.

_Damn it,_ I thought, falling back against the wall, breathing heavily, legs aching. How the hell was I going to get out of here? I knew that with the Sabers unable to track me, it was all up to me to get me and Emi out of here. Now if only Emi would wake up and realize she could beat them to a pulp, we'd be all set. But as far as I knew, she was still out.

I let out a silent cough. I was thirsty now. My lips were dry, but licking them did nothing to help. And my panting was making the air inside the bag on my head really hot and uncomfortable. Stupid bastards, did they think I was afraid of the dark? I wasn't; simply sticking a bag on my head wasn't going to get me to confess anything. Sure, my hands were bound, but that was what my legs were for. But still, the earplugs…what was the point of those?

"Idiot."

"Huh?!" I sputtered, even if I couldn't hear myself; I swore I heard a voice. I looked around, despite there being total darkness around me. "Who…?"

"Idiot," I heard again. Out of the darkness, a figure approached me. A tall, brown-haired man with dark eyes.

"C-Craig…" I smiled. "You came."

"Look what you got yourself into now," he chided, returning my smile with a cold smirk that froze the blood in my veins solid. "You love getting into trouble."

"Yeah, I got myself into this," I said dryly. "C'mon, I wasn't about to let them have Emi."

"Idiot," he spat. "You're selfish. You've always been selfish."

"That's not true! The summit…!"

"Yeah. The summit. You just didn't want to be useless. You didn't do anything to change the situation there. All you did was get yourself hurt. When you and me and Bert were in the other world, you thought of no one but yourself when you gutted yourself. You kept asking me why you thought Ishmael chose you. Well, guess what. I was wondering the same thing."

"No…" I shook my head, tears springing into my eyes. What was he saying?! "You're not making sense. Please…I got help. I'm okay now. I'm better. Just come back to me, save me. Save me and I can show you how I've changed."

"It's too late," he said with a finality that made my heart drop.

"Please, please, don't be like that! We saved each other a lot! I wasn't entirely selfish! I wouldn't let friends die!"

He turned and walked away.

"Craig! Come back! You gotta help me!"

He faded away into the darkness.

"Craig!! CRAIG!"

I bowed my head, the tears that were in my eyes now having broken free and streaked my cheeks. The man I loved…he had just abandoned me, left me to my fate… No. I shook my head. There was no such thing as fate. I still had to get out of here. But if he wasn't going to help me, then how was I supposed to do it?

"I know someone's out there!! Please, get me out of here!!"

I heard a laugh. A feminine laugh. I looked around again. Who was it this time?

"Oh, Yume, Yume," Mom said, appearing in front of me suddenly, like she'd emerged from a fog. She shook her head in disbelief and smirked. "Your imaginary boyfriend there was right."

"What?! He's…he's not imaginary!! I told you about him! I showed you that picture of all of us together!" I protested.

"He's still right. You're selfish. No one who's selfless goes and gets addicted to drugs. Selfless people don't try to kill themselves because they can't stand to get out of bed in the morning anymore, or because life is too hard. Well, guess what?! That's what life is! It's one giant piece of shit that's not gonna stink any less just because you decide you're not gonna breathe through your nose anymore! It's still there, and it's about time you just learned to DEAL with it!"

"Like you would know!!" I snapped.

"There you go! Acting like a damn kid again!" She grabbed me by the hair on the top of my head. "Do you need me to RUB your face in it?! Huh?! Is that what I have to do to you?! What do I have to do to make you deal with this shit?!"

"I've dealt with it!! I've seen lots of shit! You know that! I've had enough! I've had enough of THIS shit!!" I could feel my voice start to give out. "Just go away! I can do it myself! I'll do it my way!!"

Mom pulled on my hair, but instead of pain, I was greeted with a flash of white hitting my eyes. I squeezed them shut and recoiled, then felt something pull on my ears.

"THERE WE GO," a male voice said, making me cry out as the sudden sound assaulting my ears pierced my skull.

"Agh!!" I shouted, kicking in protest, only to feel several pairs of hands holding me down. I opened my eyes, crying out again when the light hit my eyes. I squinted, then opened them slowly. It was blurry, but I could make out the faces of Nezumi and Bruce above me, looking down. "Damn. I'm still here," I said, wincing at the sound of my own voice.

"Yep. You are," Nezumi said with a grin. I winced again; I'd forgotten how grating his voice was.

"I saw…I saw…" I whipped my head around, looking around for Mom and Craig, but there was no one. Just the two men above me. And it was then that I realized…

I'd been hallucinating. They hadn't been there at all.

Bruce laughed. "Now do you see what happens when we take away your two most important senses?! You get driven bat-crazy! You lasted a long time, though. A lot longer than I'd have thought for a kid your age. Now…" He yanked me into a sitting position. "Who is this Craig you were yelling for?"

I was sure my face went white. I'd really been talking out loud. That whole time, I really had been yelling. No wonder my throat hurt. I hadn't been sure if I really had been yelling or not, but Bruce confirmed it. I had no time to think about what I might have yelled, as he yanked me to my feet, Nezumi uncuffing my wrists.

Bruce dragged me out of the closet, my legs not wanting to work, as not only had I been cooped up in that closet for God knew how long, but I'd been kicking at that door for a hell of a long time too. All I could do was stumble alongside him as we reached a spot by the table and chairs. My wrists were cuffed again, this time in front of me. He grabbed my wrists and forced them up, so my arms were above me. I looked up; there was a hook attached to the ceiling, and to that there was a small chain. Bruce took the end of the chain and attached it to the handcuffs, so now my arms were secured above my head.

"Now," he asked again, sitting down in the nearest chair, clasping his hands together as he settled his elbows onto his legs, "who is Craig?"

"N…no one," I stuttered.

"No one? You sure yelled at no one for a long time then!" His voice got squeaky in a poor imitation of me. "Come back! Come back!"

"Shut up," I growled.

"You sure must care for this guy! You…what did you say? You saved each other? How does that work? Are you two superheroes?" he laughed. "Were you two in a gang, watching each others' asses? Hmm?"

"No."

"No? How did you save each other, then?"

"Doesn't matter. I'm alive."

He grinned. "Yes. You are alive. But if Nezumi has a say in any of this, you won't be alive for long. You see, he doesn't like to talk. He likes to get people to talk via another manner. Like, oh, pain. Pain can be a very big motivator to loosen people's lips. Most people don't care for pain too much. Do you?"

"If you're asking if I get off on it, no," I said, fidgeting my legs. Bruce noted that, and grinned.

"Ah. Can't sit still, or stand still as the case may be, huh? Must be hard, especially considering you haven't stood up in quite some time. It can get…uncomfortable."

_Standing in one place can't be THAT bad,_ I thought.

"Especially for someone who's had one leg compromised," he added. "You think you can put up with it?"

I didn't answer.

"Heh. Still don't like to talk? This'll make you open your mouth."

Bruce gestured, and Nezumi walked into the room, a cat-that-ate-the-canary look on his face. He in turn gestured behind him, and in walked Emi, looking no worse for wear. I gasped. "Emi!!" I exclaimed. "You're awake! Hurry, kick their asses! Let's get out of here!!"

The copper-haired girl just smiled and walked up to me. She ran a finger under my chin. "Now, why would I want to do that?" she asked.

I gasped. That wasn't her. This look I was seeing in her eyes, it wasn't her at all. This wasn't Emi at all, not the one I knew.

"You sons of bitches," I cursed. "What did you do to her?!"

"She's herself again," Nezumi replied casually. "We gave back to her what was taken away."

"No…"

They'd given her her memory back, somehow. The Emi I knew was gone. I had hoped that she would never remember who she was before her memory had been wiped. But not only had she gotten it back, it didn't even seem like she remembered who I was.

I really was alone now.

* * *

For a while, Bruce, Nezumi, and Emi actually seemed to ignore me. They put the chairs around the table and set up a little meal of chicken and mashed potatoes. The smell gradually wafted over to where I was, and I found myself starting to drool. I had no idea how long it had been since I'd last eaten, and I'd actually forgotten about food until they started eating that chicken, making smacking noises as they did so as if to thumb their noses at me. My stomach growled loudly, and I grunted, trying to ignore the hunger pangs that started throbbing in my stomach.

"Hungry?" Bruce asked, holding out a chicken leg, even though he was at least ten feet from me. "All you gotta do is tell us something we'd like to know, and I might let you have a bite."

I spat on the floor in response.

"Okay. Have it your way. Starve." He ripped off a big piece of chicken skin with his teeth. "Mmmmm…"

I snorted and turned my head, fidgeting my legs. Standing in place was proving a little harder than I thought. My arms had been tied up so long my shoulders were starting to ache in the back. My back, in turn, was tightening up, and no matter how much I tried to shift my weight from one leg to the other, my knees, thighs, and ankles were definitely starting to feel the strain as well. It kinda felt like waking up the morning after a Boomer battle after taking a slight beating; sore all over, but nothing I couldn't handle. Of course, if it was just that, I had the option of taking ibuprofen for the pain. Here, I had no such option. If there was just a way of getting myself free…

I took a look at my surroundings, my first opportunity to really do so. The room I was in was nothing to speak of: it was entirely concrete, the walls, ceiling, and floor colored a drab grey, with one bare light bulb adorning the ceiling. No windows, and three doors; one on my left, one on my right, and one behind me which had been the closet I was locked in. The only furniture was the table and chairs my captors and Emi were sitting in. I noticed there was no clock, no pictures on the wall. Absolutely nothing to distract myself with, and no way of knowing how long I'd been here or would be here. Of course, that could've been a good thing. I could've gone crazy watching the minute hand go by, wishing it'd go by just a little bit faster. On the other hand, it could've helped me; I could've asked myself to last just five or ten more minutes.

But I had no such help here. I either had to bear it, or give up what I knew, which wasn't going to happen. On the contrary, if I was dead, I'd be no help to them that way either, so of course they couldn't do too much to me. But I had to admit, this being-bound-and-standing-in-place thing was really starting to make me sore. But I had a plan.

I looked up at the chain attached to the ceiling, the one my cuffs were attached to. I yanked down slightly, testing how well-anchored it was to the ceiling. It didn't give at all; it was pretty well-attached. I yanked again, harder. Same result, no give at all. I frowned and looked down at my legs. They were starting to tremble from being made to bear the pressure of holding up my body for so long, but I needed them now. I took two small steps forward, then two back, repeating it several times to try to loosen them up.

_Here goes nothing!,_ I thought as I charged as far forward as I could go and did a backwards flip, my feet grabbing onto the chain.

"What the hell?!" I heard Nezumi sputter, followed by the sound of three pairs of feet running over to me.

I pressed my feet against the ceiling and pushed. The chain wasn't giving at all, and I grunted as I pressed as hard as I could, trying to pull the damn thing from the ceiling. The chain pulled on my cuffs, making my wrists hurt mightily, along with my broken pinky, which I subconsciously noticed was a nice shade of purple, and I could feel beads of sweat form on my face from the effort, but I couldn't give up. I was getting out of here, hell or high water.

A yank on my hair and a punch to the back ended my escape attempt all too quickly. I let out a cough and lost my footing, and went tumbling back down to earth, letting out a loud holler of pain when the suddenness of my body falling made my body yank on the chain, sending the resulting pain from my hands and wrists shooting down my arms and through my body.

"So, we have a little acrobat," Bruce sneered. "How weak do you think that chain is, huh? Nobody like you is gonna be able to break that thing so easily."

A punch to the stomach silenced my upcoming protest, and I lurched forward and started coughing, gasping for air. I looked up and saw Emi, fist ready. She was the one who did it.

"How stupid was that?" she chided. "We were right on the other side of the room and you did that anyway!"

"Emi…" I wheezed. "W-wake up. You gotta wake up."

"I did wake up," she stated. "I remembered my mission."

"What IS your mission?"

"Oh, you already know that. But you have to tell my friends here what you know about me." Her expression turned cold. "I don't want to see you get hurt."

I'd seen that expression before. On Boh, a long time ago. It pained me to see that she really was a 33D, no matter how she'd acted before. Now that she had her memory back, she really was just like him.

"Touching, touching," Bruce said. "Y'see, bitch, we'd go ahead and ask her what she learned from you, but we figured it'd be more fun to hear it from the horse's mouth than secondhand."

"You've gotta be kidding me," I spat, giving my head a shake to get my hair out of my face. "You're just admitting you're wasting your time with me!"

"Oh, I don't think we are. We're just killing time before we need to continue on with the next part of the mission. And we haven't gotten to kill time like this in a long time. Nez here was getting a bit frustrated at the lack of something to do."

"Or someone," Nezumi cackled, taking his belt out from the loops on his jeans. "Let's see how you like leather." He walked around so that he was behind me, and before I could prepare myself, I felt something sharp crack against the back of my thighs. I yelped, then let out another one when the next blow hit the back of my knees.

"You obviously never got spanked as a child," Bruce whispered in my ear. "We're gonna make up for that."

Nezumi struck all over my legs. My thighs, my calves, the backs of my knees. He switched between the strap and the buckle, making sure to hit me just hard enough to make me cry out with each blow. My legs trembled and gave out several times, which in turn made me cry out as my sagging body pulled on the chain. I'd regain my footing, only to practically buckle again under another strike from the belt.

My eyes started to tear up from the stinging pain, but I made it a point not to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was causing me pain anymore. I gritted my teeth, and with the next blows only gave out a low grunt. He cackled; that only gave him reason to strike harder, as I promptly cried out again when he landed a hard one across the backs of my thighs.

"Does it hurt?!" he yelled, whipping me across the calves, near my ankles, which were thankfully protected by my socks.

"Ugh! No…doesn't!!" I snapped defiantly, though in reality, my legs were stinging all over. I could feel welts start to rise on the back of them, and when he whipped the already-tender skin, it sent more tears to my eyes. I squeezed them shut, refusing to let the tears break free. I wasn't going to give him that. _It doesn't hurt…it doesn't hurt…_ I kept telling myself.

The room echoed as he whipped his belt against the concrete floor, seemingly in disgust. "Stupid little bitch," Nezumi growled. "That ain't enough for you, huh?"

"Heh…that's nothing," I said, flashing a defiant smirk, though if he'd done it several more times I probably would have been screaming in pain. I could already feel some of the welts bleeding. I almost prayed to be locked up in the closet again. That had to be the end of the worst of it.

But oh, was I wrong.

"Nez," Bruce said, "how's your nose feelin'?"

"Fine," he spat. "Stupid bitch just got lucky. Why?"

"I doubt she'll be able to do anything now. Try your luck with her again."

I felt a shiver shoot up my spine as my heart dropped to my stomach. No...

Nezumi grinned and undid the handcuffs, sending me promptly dropping to the floor, as my wounded legs no longer wanted to do anything requiring effort, and that included standing. I grunted and pushed myself up on my hands and knees, wincing when my broken pinky started to throb. I tried to crawl away, but Nezumi had other plans; he grabbed my wrists out from under me and secured my hands behind my back with another pair of handcuffs. He rolled me over so I was on my back, looking up at him.

He grinned. "Oh yeah. Just how I like them. Vulnerable."

"NO!" I screamed as he dived at me, my heart having jumped from my stomach up into my throat in a panic. He tried to wedge his legs between mine, despite my efforts to keep them closed. But my legs were hurting so much; they were so sore, and despite my valiant efforts to keep them shut, he wedged his legs between mine, prying them apart as he worked on unbuttoning my shorts.

"That Craig guy…he's your boyfriend, right?" he inquired as he backed up, yanking my shorts off my legs, taking my shoes with them, me screaming in protest. "You'll see he's nothing compared to me."

"Son of a bitch! We barely got to second base!" I spat, regretting it immediately. His grin only got wider, more lecherous.

"Oh, really? You're admitting you never fucked him? That's too bad." He grabbed my panties, his knees holding my legs apart to keep me from kicking at him. I couldn't believe this was happening. I shook my head in violent denial; this wasn't about to happen. It couldn't!

In an instant, he had my panties off, tossing them to the side before wedging his knees between my legs again. Despite my panic, I could feel myself flush a deep red; no one had ever seen those parts before. It was supposed to be something special. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Emi turn away.

"EMI!!" I screamed.

"She ain't gonna do nothin'," Nezumi said, flexing his fingers. "Don't even bother."

I felt his fingers on the insides of my thighs, stroking the skin. I felt myself wanting to throw up, but as I hadn't eaten anything lately there would've been nothing to throw up anyway. I struggled, but his knees held my legs apart.

"Stop…stop…" I pleaded.

"Ohhh no. Too late for that."

I felt him push with two fingers, and a moment later, a ripping pain gripped my body, spreading upwards into my ribs. My head fell back, my mouth half-open in shock. This couldn't be happening. He wasn't doing this to me. His fingers were…

He pushed them farther in, making me cry out with renewed pain. It felt like my insides were being ripped apart. It hurt so much.

"S-stop!!"

Nezumi just laughed and started moving them, each movement making my insides throb with pain. I turned my head and looked at Emi, looked for any sign that she was going to intervene, but she did nothing. She just stood there with her back to us, arms crossed over her chest, making not a damn sound. I shook my head and stared up at the ceiling. This wasn't happening. Somebody had to intervene. Emi, even Bruce, somebody…somebody had to step in and help me.

The room was silent except for the sound of Nezumi's cackling and the pounding of my pulse in my ears. All my strength had drained from my body; I was now at his mercy as he continued to use his fingers as his weapon. There was nothing I could do but try to block it out, pretend I wasn't really laying here, exposed, with him…doing this to me.

But finally, he did stop. He removed his fingers and showed them to Bruce. "Look! Haha!!" he laughed loudly. "She bled!"

I felt my body go cold. Bled? Sure enough, I felt a warm sensation between my legs, adding to the throbbing and burning pain there.

"She really is a virgin!" He turned to me and sucked the blood off his fingers. "Oh boy, I've never had one before! This'll really be fun!"

I could only shake my head, dazed as he started to unbutton his jeans. No…I wasn't about to lose it here. Not to this bastard. I was supposed to wait…I'd promised I would wait…

"Next time you see your boyfriend," he said, "you're gonna have to apologize to him. Just say you couldn't wait anymore! Tell him you found a real man!"

"You're not…a real…man," I said, a low growl in the back of my throat. "You're the lowest piece of shit I've ever met."

"Oh, I'm hurt."

I felt something hot press between my legs, and I felt my body go numb. Not here! Not like this!!

"No!!"

I squeezed my eyes shut, heart pounding against my chest, waiting for the inevitable. But it didn't come. Nezumi had frozen where he was. He paused, and as I opened my eyes, he took a look down. His expression was one of puzzlement, then total disgust as his face turned a shade of something between white and green. It took me a moment to realize why: there was another warm feeling between my legs, but this one was of relief.

"Oh FUCK!!" he screamed, jumping back, his parts and his jeans totally soaked. "She pissed on me!! Shit, she fucking pissed on me!!"

Bruce laughed out loud, slapping his knees, while I just laid back and sighed in relief, both at my emptied bladder and that I was no longer under threat of being penetrated by a lowlife like him. Bruce walked over to me, grinning widely.

"Well, that's a first," he admitted. "Never seen anyone literally get the piss scared out of her before. Congrats, you've lost only your dignity today."

I chuckled and let my head fall back again, tears leaking from the corners of my eyes. It hadn't been like that, not entirely; I'd been let known that I'd been holding it when Emi had socked me in the stomach. I needed relief one way or another, and Nezumi's attempt at having my body just sped up that process.

"Clean her up and get her back in the closet," Bruce ordered Emi before leaving to attend to Nezumi. I could hear him still chuckling under his breath as he left.

"Ha…haha…" I was still chuckling when Emi came over to clean me up, a stony look on her face as she wiped my legs and helped get my panties and shorts back on to get me decent again.

"That's not the end of it," Emi warned me, earplugs and bag handy. "I hope you know that you're going to be suffering for that later."

"I know," I replied, still chuckling madly. "But I got him!"

I was starting to go mad. I could feel it. But at the same time, it didn't seem like such a bad thing to do. Things couldn't possibly get worse now. They'd already tried to do the one thing I really feared and fought against greatly. What else could they throw at me?

* * *

"Oh, my nemesis the closet…we meet again…"

I curled up on the floor of the closet, my sight and hearing once again cut off from me. Touch, however, was very much still there, as was evident by the dull pain between my legs. I cursed under my breath and fidgeted my legs, wincing when the welts on the back of them stung with the movement. Still, I did have a grin on my face. Oh, the look on that bastard Nezumi's face when he realized I'd peed on him. It was priceless. Unfortunately, that was no longer an option now if he tried anything like that again, and as Emi had said, I was bound to pay for it later. But at the moment, I was by myself again, and even though I was here in the closet again, I knew that at least for now, he couldn't touch me.

Now all I had right now was my thoughts to occupy me.

I reflected on what had happened so far. A pistol-whipping, locked in the closet, forced to stand up, whipped with a belt, almost raped – the third attempt on me, which disgusted me to the core – and now I was back in the closet. Hadn't eaten, hadn't really been able to do much of anything besides my half-assed escape attempt.

"Damn it, somebody…" I cried, the air inside the bag stifling by now, "come help me out. Craig, Bert, get over here and…do something…"

I sniffled and shook my head. I couldn't cry now. That was what they wanted, was for me to lose control. No, I couldn't do that. I'd lasted this long, however long this had been. I had to stay focused. I had to figure out a way to get Emi to come to her senses, remember me, remember her friendship with me. I had sworn that she would have stepped in when Nezumi had pulled my shorts down; that was a thousand times worse than Masahiro putting his hand on my shoulder. And yet she had done nothing. It was almost like she'd seen him do things like that before...like she was used to seeing, to put it lightly, acts of indecency. Hell, as an assassin Boomer she'd probably committed lots of them herself, probably not of a sexual nature, but indecent acts nonetheless.

Dammit, why did they have to give her her memory back?! She was better off as an innocent. Now I wondered what I would have to do now that she was apparently one of the bad guys again. The mission was to recover the OMS or destroy it, no matter what the cost. No…I couldn't kill Emi. I wouldn't be able to bring myself to do it. And in any case, I was probably no match for her in hand-to-hand combat, not without my suit. It was the only way I'd been able to kill Boh. Could I do the same to Emi?

"No…can't…" I swore, noting by the feeling of my throat that my voice was probably hoarse. "Gotta save Emi…gotta get her back…"

"You know the mission!" I heard a voice I recognized as Linna's chastise, her figure appearing in the distance. "Recover the OMS, or destroy it!"

"I know it…" I sighed wearily. "And I'll tell you…that I haven't totally fucked this up. I'm getting her back…I'll…I'll show you."

"Look at you. You want to tell them so badly how you know about her. Go on and do it. They'll probably just have their way with you and kill you afterward anyway."

"No they won't. I can hold out way longer than them."

"You're on the verge of breaking down. They violated you. That's the one thing they had to do to really get to you. It's not going to take much more to get you to start running your mouth. Self-preservation isn't the first rule for just robots, you know. People will always protect themselves first, above everyone and anyone else. You're no exception to that, Yumeko." She bent down and got in my face. "You know they're not going to let you die without you giving them what they want!"

"They think having me go hungry is gonna get to me? It won't," I said firmly. "They think beating me across the legs is gonna do shit? It won't! You have SEEN what I have gone through!! This is NOTHING! I can deal with this just fine!!"

"Are you saying they'll have to shoot at your knees to get you to say anything? Well, it probably won't take long for them to resort to that," she replied curtly.

"Isn't there a little piece of paper called the Geneva Convention?" I asked dryly.

"As if they really are going to care about that."

"Well, I guess it IS a little late for them to not leave any evidence of what's gone on here, huh?"

"Heh." She smirked.

"How do I get Emi back?" I asked. "I know she remembers me somewhere in there."

"Silly girl," she said, laughing. "She's only a Boomer! All she's gonna care about is her mission, and you've got no part of that. You're just gonna have to admit you're not getting the Emi you know back. Boh killed Michiko because she was in his way. The only reason Emi hasn't killed YOU yet is because those two guys want you alive."

"She's not only a Boomer!" I protested, tears coming to my eyes. "She's a friend! And I gotta get her back no matter what!! I don't care what she is or what she's got! It's not her fault she is what she is!"

"That doesn't matter, though," she said. "The Emi you know is gone. I said that. She's not going to be going to the UN willingly. So you know what you have to do."

"I can't…" I said in a shaky voice. "Can't do that…"

She vanished.

"Linna…I can't…"

I blinked back tears. Even if it was the only option left, I couldn't kill Emi. Even if the Linna I'd been talking to was only another hallucination, another figment of my imagination, what she had said still had a fragment of truth to it. If I couldn't get her to remember, couldn't get her back, I'd have to resort to the other option given to me when the Sabers got this mission. But I just couldn't do it. She was still Emi, even if not the one I knew. She was still someone who had been my friend.

But if she turned on me, who knew, then, what I'd do. But I couldn't bring myself to think of that. It was a crazy idea. Just crazy.

"Recover or destroy it…by any means necessary…" I droned to myself. "That's gonna be hard."

I fidgeted again as I tried to get into a semi-comfortable position. I was so tired…I knew I hadn't slept since I got here, and part of me figured that was a part of their plan, to keep me from getting any sort of rest. I could sure try, now that I was in the closet, but the welts on my legs and the soreness in seemingly every muscle on my body were not going to make that easy, or possible. No matter what position I chose, something still hurt.

"Could've done something, Emi," I mumbled tiredly. "You knew that was…the one thing I didn't want to happen. Somebody touching me… Why did you just turn away? You could've helped…"

I cringed to myself again, this time at memories that popped up in my head just as vividly as the hallucinations I'd been having. After the incident with Rob at the party, it wasn't till after I'd gotten home from the other world that I had finally admitted to Mom what happened. I'd been deliberately avoiding telling her, afraid that she'd do something, blame me, or say something along the lines of me ending up just like her. But she hadn't done anything like that. She'd hugged me, and told me she wished I'd told her sooner.

Pity she wasn't so understanding when I told her about my drug use. Funny how stuff like that goes.

But this was worse than what happened then, even if I still didn't like to think about it. If I got out of here, would I, could I tell her? Did it matter? I shook my head; no, it didn't matter, not as long as I got Emi out with me. What I was going through here didn't matter. And if she asked, I'd just deny it. Simple as that. I just had to get Emi out of here, and the rest could fall by the wayside. I'd handle it myself. The fine details weren't important. Just as long as we both got out of here intact, that was all that mattered.

"Doesn't matter…I can take anything…"

"Anything?" a voice asked curtly out of nowhere.

I cringed. "Oh geez…Sylia," I said with a small, nervous chuckle. "So you showed up too. What, did Linna send you?"

"No," she said, appearing in front of me. "She didn't need to."

"Look, I know about the mission, but I can't do it. I'm getting Emi out of here alive."

"I'm not here to discuss her," she said, spitting out the last word like it was a profanity. "I'm here to discuss you. You think you can take this?"

"Hell yeah I can take it. It's just too bad for them I don't have my blackouts anymore. I probably would've had one when he used his fingers to…" I stopped. "I'm not talking about that."

"Why not? You don't want to admit that you've fallen victim just like Priss?"

"Mom had her drink spiked…and I…I wasn't raped! The bastard just tried to! I'm gonna kill the son of a bitch the next time I see him!!"

"With what, your legs?"

"If I have to!"

She laughed. "Yumeko, you're a gymnast, but you're not the best at mixing that in with your fighting tactics. And if you would consider your current situation, you'd realize how impossible your idea is."

"Nothing's impossible. I've figured that out by now…"

"You'll have to prove it then. And unfortunately, I can't help you, because…" She vanished. "I'm not here."

I blinked in shock, then squeezed my eyes shut and let out a silent curse. What help she was. She was the leader! She was supposed to tell me what to do, help me out! What kind of leader would abandon her comrades like this?! Wasn't she worried about me, worried about Emi?

I felt a pair of hands on me, and I felt myself let out a yell of surprise, but then one of the hands tugged on the bag on my head. I pulled away as a flash of light hit my eyes, and then another yell as the plugs were removed from my ears, a rush of air invading the newly clear passages. I shook my head, trying to get aware of what was going on, and after a moment, I was aware of this much: the hands on me weren't leathery.

I opened my eyes. "E…Emi?" I asked. Sure enough, a girl with yellow eyes was staring back at me.

"It's me," she affirmed.

"Let's get out of here. Before they come back…"

"They're in the next room," she said, holding up an open bottle of water. "Here. This is for you."

She held it to my lips, and I gladly chugged it. She tipped it some more, and I eagerly swallowed the fluid, relishing the feel of it slipping down my throat, sore from yelling. Once the bottle was empty, she set it aside. "You were dehydrated," she said matter-of-factly. "Bruce told me to give it to you. He said it's a taste of what's to come."

"What's to come? What is to come? I don't give a shit what's to come."

She uncuffed my wrists, then pulled off my jacket. "Hey…what're you doing?!" I demanded, too sore to put up a real fight as she next yanked off my socks.

"I told you, that was a taste of what's to come. I have to prepare you."

She pinned me down, her knees on my back as she pulled off my shirt, then expertly moved to take off my shorts. In a matter of moments, I was down to my bra and panties. "Emi!!" I yelled as she cuffed me again, this time with my wrists in front of me. "You're not letting him do it to me again! Please!!"

"It's not that," she deadpanned. "You need to listen better."

A taste of what was to come? What kind of hint was that? The water had tasted metallic, but then again so did a lot of water. No, she couldn't have meant it literally. Water…?

"Shit! NO!!" I screamed. "No WAY in hell!! No water!!"

She grinned. "Took you long enough. What's wrong? Do you not like water?"

It wasn't something I had felt was important to bring up, my slight fear of water, and now I was glad I hadn't. Not that it mattered now. My reaction had been enough. I kicked her in the face as she removed my leg sleeve, but was unfazed as she tossed it aside to rest with the rest of my clothes.

"Don't worry," she said. "If this goes well, you won't be suffering for long, and then you can go home. But if you decide to put up a fight, you're in for the long haul."

"I'm already in for the long haul," I snapped. "I'm not leaving without you!!"

"Who said anything about me leaving? And again, don't worry. It's not waterboarding or anything crude like that. It's still plenty effective, however." She grinned again. "Hope you don't mind cold."

* * *

Emi dragged me out of the closet and to another room, one that looked pretty similar to the one we were just in, except this one only had two doors, and I was assuming the other one was just another way in, as opposed to being another closet. Also, there were at least half a dozen fans, all placed in a circle, facing the middle of the room, which had nothing. At least, it had nothing until I was tied up again, in the same position as before, forced into a standing position. I looked up, and instead of the chain being attached to a concrete ceiling, what it was attached to was a grate of some sort.

"Do those feel good?" Emi asked, referring to the fans blowing on me.

"They're fine," I replied flatly. "I don't see the point of stripping me down to my bra and underwear though!"

"Oh, you will." She gave me a pat on the shoulder before stepping out, closing the door behind her.

"Emi! Emi, come back!!"

I sighed and fidgeted, my body remembering the pain from standing up earlier all over again. Grimacing, I began the old process of shifting my weight from leg to leg, shivering ever so slightly, as all the fans were apparently on full blast. Was this what she meant by cold? And where was the water?

In a second, I wished I hadn't asked that. Suddenly, water came pouring down from above me, deluging me like I was trapped under a waterfall, pouring over my body, my face, into my eyes, nose, and mouth. I gagged and choked, trying to scream, only to get a mouthful of water. I was drowning! And then, I wasn't. Just as soon as it started, the water stopped. I gasped and coughed, sucking in as much air as my seemingly waterlogged lungs would let me.

And then, I saw the point of the fans. The water had been cold…and with the fans blowing on me hard from all directions, it was even colder.

"H-holy SHIT!!" I screamed, sputtering as my teeth chattered. So this was what she'd meant by cold! The water would've been nice to feel after a hot day, perhaps, but not in a situation like this, and certainly not with fans blowing on me!

"How's that?" a voice blared over an intercom I couldn't see. "Is that too cold for you?"

"Suck it!!" I spat. "After having that prick touch me, a shower's just what I needed!"

"Good!" Bruce declared. "You'll have another one shortly."

Had I been facing a headwind, or some facsimile of that in this situation, I could've tried to concentrate on the fact that at least my back was still warm. But the fans blowing on every part of me prevented that line of thinking, and I quickly found myself shivering and practically tap-dancing to keep my body moving, get it warm. All that did was get the air blowing on places it might otherwise not have, which only served to make me just as cold as I was a minute ago.

_Can't let this get to me,_ I thought. _It's just water…it's not like they're holding me underwater._ I tried to convince myself it was like a cold shower…a really, really friggin' heavy cold shower. Oh, what was the use? It was like having buckets dumped on my head, something I'd really hated at pool parties, and was part of why I ceased going to them. The one in Sacramento had been the first one I'd let myself go to since I was twelve or so. Water tricks were inevitable at those things, and once it came out that I didn't exactly like water, things would only get worse.

This wasn't waterboarding, but it almost may as well have been.

"Are you in a mood for talking now?" Bruce's voice inquired, though this time it wasn't over the intercom. It was from the door on my right.

"D-depends on what we're gonna talk about," I said, teeth gritted as he walked over, taking care to stay behind the fans as he faced me.

"Heh. You look cold."

"I'm fine."

"Oh, you're fine? Well, if you like, I can invite Nezumi in here. He can change all that."

"Son of a BITCH is NOT coming in here!" I growled, enraged. "He's not coming within a hundred feet of me!!"

"Unfortunately, he's on the other side of that door, controlling the water. But," he said, holding up a finger as if to make a point, "if you tell me something I like, then I can keep him out of here for you."

"You'd…do that? I'm not so sure."

Bruce grinned. "There's something I've learned about you, kid, between seeing you in person and overhearing you talk to yourself in the closet…"

I grimaced. "Like what?"

"You don't like men. And I think I figured out why." He stepped between two of the fans and pressed his finger against my nose. "You said something a while ago about…your mother's drink getting spiked? At the same time you were saying you weren't raped? Would I be right in assuming that your…issues…stem from not having a dad, because your dad is a rapist? That you're a child of rape? Your mom probably can't stand looking at you. A constant reminder of what she had to go through…"

"She loves me!" I retorted. "She kept me on purpose! She said it wasn't my fault!"

"Not your fault? Maybe not, but maybe you have some traits that remind you of him. Like your skin." He pressed his fingers harder against my nose. "Full-blooded Japanese kids don't tan very well in summer. So I can only assume either you're only part-Jap and that's a deep tan, since it's the middle of fuckin' summer, or your skin is naturally like that, which I'm guessing drives her nuts since your dad must have been dark."

"I wouldn't know."

"I'd say your skin's naturally like that, since I don't see any tan lines," he said with a grin, making me blush. "Either that or you tan nude…but given your reaction to being unclothed or having someone try to unclothe you, that that's not the case. But then again, you apparently still have a cherry, so maybe it's a new thing to you. Or your boyfriend couldn't get it up."

"Shut up!! We decided we weren't ready!" Damn, why couldn't I shut myself up now?

"Or he got repulsed when he saw these scars." He removed his finger from my nose and poked my stomach, making me jump.

"He doesn't…c-care about them," I said, shivering anew, and not just from the cold. He wasn't going to try it himself, was he?

He sneered. "Oh, a heart of gold. Then why isn't he out looking for you, huh? I bet he's worried you haven't called him. Or your mom. Oh wait, your mom hates you. She wouldn't care either way, would she? She'd be more than happy to see her little bastard disappear."

"Shut up!!"

"You keep telling me to shut up. Is it because that's true?"

"It's not true at all!" I shouted, knees by now quaking. I was freezing, my body hurt, and him indirectly reminding me of my situation with Mom was only making me really pissed. A part of me wondered how Bert had put up with it when he went through his own torture. He had only very briefly explained it to me, and at the time I thought he was just telling me to stop whining about my own experiences since he'd gone through worse. Another part of me had wondered if he was lying about that whole thing. But still, it had been apparent through our experiences together that he had been through a lot, and he had to have been a hell of a strong-willed guy to put up with something like this. If he could get through it, so could I.

"It doesn't look like you're willing to talk," he concluded, stepping back behind the fans.

"Not about my damn mother, I'm not!" I spat, my words choked off when I was deluged with what seemed like another couple hundred gallons of water coming down on me from the grate above. My body, already cold, practically turned to ice, and the moment my lungs found air, I screamed, jerking against the cuffs. But the cold only seemed to make my wrists, now starting to get rubbed raw from the binds, hurt even more, and the pain of the movement only added to my screams, my frustration.

"Cold now?" Bruce asked.

I didn't reply, only glaring at him as my teeth chattered, as I tried to stay on my feet, which by itself kind of seemed like torture. The ground was concrete as well, and with the water being dumped on it, it too turned cold, and with my cold feet standing on the cold ground…I just couldn't find relief at all.

"Are we going to talk now? Doesn't matter if you don't want to, because we'll just keep doing the water thing until you're ready." He smirked. "Let's start with something easy, okay? What's your name? You never did really introduce yourself as anybody beyond being the one who took care of Emi. I'll ask it again. What's your name?"

"A…Asagi-gi-giri," I said through chattering teeth.

"A last name. We're getting somewhere. Too bad only a million or two people in Tokyo have that same last name! What's your first name?"

"…Emi…"

"Ha! That can't be your first name!" He laughed. "You trying to be funny?"

"No, asshole!" I snapped. "I'm asking about Emi! She's—" I stopped and groaned, wincing when my leg started to throb, and not from the forced standing. This water thing was tricking my leg, making it think it was raining. No wonder it was hurting now. Damn, one more problem I had to deal with. "She's got nothing to do with anything you guys are doing! So what the hell do you want with her?"

Bruce just grinned again, that grin that said he knew something. But at the moment, I was so damn cold I could barely think straight. "You know damn well what we want with her. You were yelling in that closet that you didn't care what she was or what she has. So, tell us, Miss Asagiri, what DOES she have?"

"A good…heart…" I stammered, trying to stay focused. So damn cold!

"I'll ask again, what does she have?" he demanded. "We can always cut her open and find out. Does she have something inside?"

I panicked. "NO!!" I screamed. "You can't do that!"

He stopped and looked at me, amused. "Why not? She IS just a girl, isn't she?"

"You'll…kill her! You can't! You can't take it out!"

"It?" He stepped up to me again. "And what is 'it'?"

I couldn't stop myself now. "You can't take it out. She'll die if you take it out. She'll be no good to you dead!"

"You're right, she won't. But you didn't answer me. What is 'it,' and how do you know it's in her?"

"It's something important…" I gritted my teeth; I had to get a hold of myself! I couldn't crack now! I'd already been through far too much to fall victim to some cold water and fans! "You know what it is, so…why should you have to hear it again?"

"Because I want to. What is it?"

"Her heart." It wasn't entirely a lie; she couldn't live without it, so it may as well have been her beating heart.

"You think you're a poet now? Saying it's her heart? Are you sure you're not going mad thinking you can hear the beating of that hideous heart underneath your feet? It ain't her fucking heart, and I know you know it ain't her fucking heart." He headed for the door again. "I think you need a little more time to think over what you'd like to discuss with me."

"Oh, now who's the poet?" I managed to mumble as he left the room, leaving me alone. I knew he wasn't going to give up that easily, and at the moment, I did feel like that person in that old poem, going mad with this knowledge I had to keep locked in my head somehow. But it was slowly leaking out of me, with every dump of water they poured on me.

Being done in by water? Not on my life.

* * *

I'd assumed Bruce would be coming back in after the third dumping on water on me, but he didn't. He'd meant what he said by waiting for me to want to talk. But I wasn't about to give in that easily, or at least that's what I wanted to think. If he'd gone on much longer with his banter I probably would've spilled something I'd have regretted big-time, but now it was just me, the water, the fans, and what was left of my sanity. Water…they HAD to be joking!! Who would've thought water would have been such an effective way of getting people to talk? Then again, I didn't know anybody who liked the thought of drowning. It seemed like a horrible way to go. Having air cut off from you, struggling to get it back…it was a horrible feeling. I didn't have to worry about that here – TOO much, anyway – but the cold, oh, the damn freezing cold. Now I knew what it must have been like whenever I'd see people every New Year's Day on TV making a jump into the Arctic Ocean or whatever to greet the new year. I'd thought it was crazy then. Now that I had an idea of how it felt, I REALLY thought they were crazy! Who the hell would willingly want to go through that shit?!

Part of me really, really wanted to try my acrobatic trick that I'd done earlier, but I literally couldn't. By now, I'd been standing up so long my whole body was crying out in pain, and my body was sore from the efforts to keep itself standing, lest any sag in my body tug on the handcuffs and rub my wrists even more raw. The backs of my legs hurt from the belt-whipping, my face still hurt from the pistol-whipping…hell, there wasn't a spot that didn't hurt.

What wasn't helping matters was the fact I was really starting to get tired, which of course hampered my efforts to keep my body standing. One would think that the constant cold from the fans, or the deluges of water, or the pain would keep me awake, but I felt like I was starting to get numb to it. Or maybe it was frostbite; was it possible to get frostbite this way? I didn't know, but the flash of pain when my legs gave out when I started to nod off would usually jerk me back to a semi-alert state, as well as the aforementioned deluges of water.

I decided not to keep count anymore after the fourth or fifth dumping. There wasn't any sense of timing to it, so it was useless to use that as a barometer for how long I'd been here. They could be one right after the other, or they could be a half-hour apart, not that I knew that exactly; it was a guess. I just knew I'd be standing there shivering for a hell of a long time, half-naked and with my scars turning purple from the cold, before more water would come crashing down over my head and body.

"Not…so…cold," I mumbled to myself, letting tears run down my face; at least they were hot. "This isn't cold. This…isn't…that bad…"

The door to my right creaked open, and in sauntered Bruce, one hand in his pocket and one holding a cup with a lid as he positioned himself in front of me, between two of the fans. For a moment, he said nothing. He just stood there and gazed at me, pensive.

"You look like you want company," he said, taking a sip from the cup, which I noticed had steam wafting from the opening. "Mmm, this is nice and hot. I bet you want some of this, huh?"

I just tucked in my lips, not saying anything.

"How are we feeling?"

"I think y-you know how I feel," I spat. What a stupid question to ask at a time like this.

"Enlighten me."

"Fucking cold."

"You look it. Now, let's just start with something easy again. We'll get to the stuff about our dear Emi, but I like knowing stuff about the people I'm talking to. Let's see…" He stopped to ponder. "Your mom was raped and you were born as a result. You have man issues. Your last name is Asagiri. Hmm, we're getting somewhere. I can guess your age, but make it easy on me. How old are you?"

I sighed. "N…nineteen."

"There, that wasn't so hard. Just had to give me a number, as long as it was the right one. But I'll tell ya, you're the oldest nineteen-year-old I've ever seen, and I'll also admit I've never had to interrogate a teenager. But we're all learning as we go, right?" He grinned and took another sip from his cup. "When did you graduate high school?"

"Last year."

"Last year as in a few months ago, or literally last year, like in '56?"

"'56…"

"Any siblings? I'd think not, unless your mom got raped more than once."

"Shut up. I'm an only kid."

"Grandparents?"

"Died in Second Kanto."

"That figures. What about your Spitdevil? Dealer?"

I furrowed my brows. What was with the sudden subject change? "Well…yeah. How else would I have a gun in Tokyo?"

"Nice gun for a kid your age. Bob was looking at getting one for himself."

"Bob…that guy I shot, right?" I inquired. "Heh, sorry about that. Bet you and the SOB are pissed about that."

He smirked. "Did us a favor. Any guy who can get taken out by a kid deserves nothing less than just that."

"Didn't even stop to help him. That's cold."

"Happens in this line of work," he said nonchalantly. "Ya try not to get too attached to anybody lest something like that happen. But you probably know how that goes, right?"

"I only took in Emi…t-to help her," I said. "I was gonna help her find her family. But you're not my idea of family. You're just…using her. At least I treated her with respect and kindness. I haven't seen any of that from you."

"What would you know? You've been stuck in a closet or strung up the whole time you've been here. You've seen nothing. And she's not going to care how she's treated. All that matters is the mission at hand."

"And she'll just get her memory erased at the end anyway," I mumbled, forgetting that I was actually talking out loud and not just in my head.

"That's right," he affirmed with a wide grin, which was what made me realize I really had said it out loud. He walked up to me and held out his cup. "I like what I'm hearing now. Take a sip."

I was reluctant to do so, but then the steam rising up from the cup hit my face. I sighed; it felt so good, especially given my current predicament. The smell told me it was hot chocolate. After a moment, I just nodded, and he tilted the cup so I could take a sip. I'd barely gotten the sweet liquid in my mouth before he yanked it away. "How do you know she'll get her memory erased again?" he inquired, swirling the cup in his hand like it was a glass of wine.

"You're…using her," I growled. "She'd be dangerous to have if she knew too much. Any Boomer is…"

"And how do you know she's a Boomer?"

"She…did things that made me wonder. She flipped a guy I know who's three times her size over her shoulder. Even I can't do that."

"Oh. Is that all?"

_Stop talking, dammit!,_ a voice in my head screamed. "Yeah."

"Really?"

"I said yeah."

"Ok, you know she's a Boomer. But how do you know what's inside her? DO you know what's inside her? Who are you working for that found out that information?"

"I don't work for anybody but myself," I said through gritted teeth, a new resolve somehow building inside, despite the pain my body was wracked with. By now it felt like I was on one of those medieval stretching machines.

"Don't play smartass with me now, kid," he warned, pointing at the door. "I can bring Nez back in here any time, so you better just tell me what I want to hear."

"You wouldn't," I said, trying not to sound frightened by the prospect, but inside, I was. The face of that rat was the last thing I wanted to see.

"Oh, I would. I've seen how much you treasure that precious cherry of yours, but if you don't start telling me who you work for, I'll have him come in here, and if he's still eager to pop it I will damn well let him have at it."

"You're NOT…gonna DO that," I yelled at him. He had to be kidding!

"Not like this I'm not," he granted. "This would be too easy. Although there is a toy of his that he's eager to use, and I'm not talking about his wang. Emi!!"

Emi entered the room through the same door Bruce had come in from. "Yes?" she asked.

"Get the kid redressed and bring her back out to the main room. Nezumi's got one more trick in store."

She just nodded acknowledgment as he left. Turning to me, she flipped a switch next to the door that made all of the fans turn off, which made me let out a loud gasp as the cold suddenly was extinguished. Well, my body was still cold, but at least I didn't have the fans making it worse. Her reaching up to undo the cuffs was the last straw. I let out a strangled yell as I dropped to my knees, my body screaming in sweet relief. No more standing! No more cold!

"Hmph. It's not over," she chided. "Don't look too happy."

She left the room and came back a second later with a towel, helping me get myself wiped dry. I almost wish she'd rub faster; the friction on my skin would've helped me to warm up again, but she must've sensed that, because she didn't go any faster. In fact, she started patting me dry instead of rubbing. It didn't matter; I just didn't want to be wet anymore, even if there really wasn't a way to dry off my undergarments.

She dragged me out to the main room, where my clothes still were, and in a matter of time I was back in my shirt and shorts, and she even put on my jacket for me. My sleeve, shoes and socks stayed off, however, and before I could even think of doing anything else beyond getting clothed again, I felt her jerk my arms behind me, cuffing my wrists yet again.

"Is this necessary?!" I snapped.

"Yes," she deadpanned before shoving me to the floor. "Water wasn't enough. You being touched wasn't enough. But oh, believe me, THIS will work."

"I don't know what 'this' is, but—"

"Hi again!" a voice rang out, a voice that grated on my ears. I snapped my head in the direction of the voice, and there, alongside Bruce, was the rat. That lousy rotten…

"YOU!!" I screamed. "I'm gonna KILL you!!" Emi ran over and grabbed my shoulders to keep me from lunging at him, not like my legs were in any shape to do any lunging anyway, though I definitely would have. "You son of a bitch!! You think you can do that to me and get away with it?!"

"Someone's touchy," he laughed, then quickly stopped and snarled at me. "Bitch, you're one of the most stubborn people I've met, and I've met my share. I'd love to play around with you, believe me I would, but Bruce here has let me know that we're now under a bit of a time constraint. We have visitors coming, and they would really like us to have something for them when they come over. So guess what?" He whipped out a stun gun and turned it on, a crackling noise emanating from the end as he pointed it at me, the occasional visible spark flying out. Emi stood back as I tried to push myself away from him with my by-now-extremely-sore legs, which didn't work too well. "We're gonna be playing with electricity."

I saw his arm come down, and the next thing I knew, I felt a zap on the side of my leg, which instantly went through my entire body. I screamed and fell back, trembling, as my muscles suddenly refused to obey my orders. What the hell was that?! I couldn't move!

"Haha!" he cackled. "You like that? Have some more!!" He hit me with it again, on my arm, making me scream again as the shock made my entire body jerk again. I felt something else slam into my back – the steel tip of a boot – making me cough and sputter as it made me roll onto my side. "Stupid bitch! You've been too much trouble!"

I heard the stun gun crackle again, and if I was able to cringe, I would have. I wasn't even able to let out a protest as he zapped me again, this time in the back. I screamed again, the tears that had been building up spilling free, streaking my face.

"STOP!" I yelled. "It hurts!!"

"I KNOW it hurts!" he shot back at me. "It's supposed to!" A moment later, another jolt of pain, this time on my calf, and another scream.

"No more…stop…" I pleaded.

"Better say something else besides that!!" He walked around to my front and kicked me several times in the ribs, knocking the wind out of me before shocking me in the shoulder. "Say something useful!!"

I sputtered and let out a strangled yell, spitting out a low curse, sobbing. I never thought something would hurt so much, and this was coming from me, and I thought I'd been through the most painful things known to man. But man, of course, could always come up with something more painful. Getting shot had hurt, but I was just about ready to declare this the mother of all pain. It just wasn't going to stop.

"I should've done this to start with!" he said, kicking me in the legs and back, which only made me holler more.

"Try it a few more times," Bruce suggested. "She'll crack for sure."

"No…" a quiet voice said, belonging to Emi. "Not so much. You'll hurt her!"

"Shut up!" Nezumi snapped. "That's the POINT!" He punctuated the remark with another jolt to my back. This time, the scream was trapped in my throat. My voice was giving out. And so was my resolve. No more…I couldn't take it any more…

"Stop…stop…" I croaked, the pain wracking my paralyzed body. No more! This pain was too much! It was too damn much!

Several more jolts followed, which I could barely make any response to. I was too busy crying. Nezumi was still cackling, like the son of a bitch was having the time of his life, while Bruce just stood by, arms crossed. And Emi…I couldn't see her through my tear-blurred vision. I didn't know where she was.

Until she screamed.

Nezumi stopped in his tracks and froze in position, stun gun still crackling. The tears practically dried up in my eyes as I opened them wide and looked up. She was screaming, her head bowed, her hands and fingers bent inwards like claws. And then, she stopped and looked up, and it was then that I saw it.

The eyes. Red, glowing eyes.

Her face was contorted in a snarl as she lunged at Nezumi, who in his surprise dropped the stun gun. She grabbed him by his head, and a crack filled the air as she gave his head one hard twist. He dropped to his knees, then slumped backwards, limp. Bruce, the one who'd always been so calm, so level-headed, was absolutely stunned. When Emi turned his sights on him, he took a step back, then when she charged at him, he turned and ran out of the room.

I couldn't see all of what happened next, but she did manage to grab him by his shirt just as he was getting through the door. Out of range of my sight, I heard several very loud pounding noises, like she was slamming him against the wall. Three, four…five times I heard the slamming before it stopped.

My jaw just dropped as I laid there, unable to move. Had I just seen that?

The copper-haired girl came back into the room, not even breathing heavily. She looked at me, her eyes normal again, and gasped. "Yumeko!" she said, bending down over me. "Are you ok?"

"E…Emi…" I stammered. "You're…"

"Let me get these off." She took the cuffs off of my wrists, and helped me sit up, me with my face contorted in pain. Holy shit, did my body hurt!! "It's ok. They won't hurt you anymore."

"You're…not the other Emi? You're the one I know?"

"I am the one you know," she replied. "I just have my old memories back as well. Just because I got those back doesn't mean that I forgot about you."

I winced and lifted my head enough to get a look at Nezumi. I saw him laying flat on his back, with his legs tucked underneath him…as well as what looked like the back of his head. I felt myself lurch, wanting to throw up. "Shit…you really messed him up."

"I told him to stop. He wouldn't."

"Wish you'd…done something earlier. Like, a LOT earlier."

"Hold on."

She stood me and up and leaned me against her, putting one of my arms around her shoulders for support. She helped me through the door into the room with the fans, and it was there that I saw what exactly she had done to Bruce. There was a large bloodspattered design on the far wall, with Bruce's body slumped against it, his skull completely crushed and caved in. I could barely open my mouth to say anything before Emi got us through the next door, to another room, this one with a bed and a sink. She laid me down in the bed.

"You need to rest for a while," she said. "And let me explain, before you accuse me of waiting." She grimaced. "Yumeko, I…part of me did forget, for a while. I mean, I recognized you, but all I could think of was my mission, the OMS mission. And the Boomer part of me, the assassin part of me, really enjoyed watching you in pain, but I also knew that you could take it. You'd told me what you went through, so I thought you'd handle it fine. Even when Nezumi was going to rape you, somehow I knew you'd be okay. But when he started using the stun gun…"

She buried her face in her hands as she sat at the foot of the bed. I grimaced. "Emi, don't be like that."

"I'm sorry!" she cried. "I promised that I would protect you! I swore it! And when he started using that stun gun, I remembered that promise. And I just…couldn't…take it! I had to stop him, stop him and Bruce!"

"Oh, you stopped 'em," I grumbled, wincing as I lifted my arm to rub my shoulder. I was starting to get control of my body back. "So what about these visitors?"

"Bruce and Nezumi's bosses are coming shortly," she said quietly. "We're gonna have to leave before they get here."

"Which is…?"

"In an hour. But you need to get muscle control back first. Just rest. You need it."

"Emi…"

"Huh?"

I managed a weak smile. "Thanks."

She looked guilty. "Please don't say that. I'm the one who didn't do anything to help you. I don't deserve your thanks. But I will do everything I can to help you now." She put a hand on my leg. "I won't ever forget my promise again."


	5. Don't ask, don't tell

I laid in bed for a little bit, but it wasn't long before I decided I just couldn't stay still anymore; hell, after all the staying-still I'd done in this place, it was the last thing I wanted to do. Against Emi's advice, I got off the bed, my legs buckling at first when I tried to walk. But after taking a few small steps, my legs started to get the hang of it again, and I walked across the room slowly, then back to the bed, repeating it about a dozen times to get them to loosen up.

"You have no idea how good this feels," I sighed, leaning against the footboard.

"Then why do you still look like you're in pain?" Emi inquired.

"Have you seen the back of my legs? It's all welted. About the only thing those bastards didn't do is bury me up to my head in sand and stone me." I reached into my jacket, grimacing when I realized my gun wasn't in there. It actually took me a moment to remember what had happened to it. "Oh yeah…that," I mumbled, gingerly touching the wounds on my face. They were tender, but scabbed over. "Emi, what did that rat do with my gun?"

"I think he has it in his jacket."

I made my way out of that room, through the water room, making a conscious effort not to look at Bruce's bloodied corpse, and to the main room, where Nezumi and his twisted head still lay. I got down on my knees and, trying not to look past his shoulders, dug through the inside pockets of his jacket. I found a 9mm in the right pocket, but that wasn't it. I ignored it and dug through the left pocket, grinning when I saw my Spitdevil. I took it, making sure it still had the magazine in it before I put it in my own jacket.

Sitting a short distance away were my socks, shoes, and sleeve. Sitting down on the ground, I yanked my sleeve on, biting my lip to keep from crying out when I had to tug it over some of the welts on my leg. After I had it on, I slipped on my socks and shoes, my fingers fumbling as I tied the laces. My pinky was still purple, and plenty swollen, but I doubted I'd find any tape around here to bind it with.

"Son of a bitch," I grumbled, standing up to take a look at Nezumi again. "Emi shouldn't have been so easy on you."

"Easy?" Emi repeated, looking dumbfounded as she came into the room. "You saw what I did."

"I meant it was too fast. I would've liked to shoot his dick off or something. I'd still like to, but there's no point when I can't hear him scream in pain."

"…Are you ok?"

"I'm super. Let's get out of here before those other guys show up. How long do we have?"

"Thirty minutes, assuming they won't be early."

"Are you bugged?"

"What? No."

"Good. So let's go."

We both went out through the other door, and after weaving down a long hallway, which was just as bare as any of the other rooms had been, Emi led us to the front door. She took a breath and unlocked it, peeking her head out to make sure no one had arrived early. "Nobody," she said. "It's clear." She ushered me through, then shut the door behind her.

"We're outside," I breathed. "We're free…" I sucked in a large helping of fresh air. It felt like an eternity since I'd had anything other than the stale kind inside that place. But at the same time, I could smell something else. Smelled like…

"Rain!" I yelped when right at that moment, it thundered, and rain started to fall, lightly. As it fell on me, I could feel myself stiffen up, my heart starting to race. Water was falling on me, again. I put my arms over my head and crouched down, whining, in full panic mode. "No! No!" I yelled.

"Y-Yumeko," Emi stammered. "It's rain. It's okay."

"I KNOW!" I screamed and pulled at my hair. "DAMMIT!!"

"Get up, get up!" She pulled me to my feet. "It's ok! I'm right here! Just pull your jacket over your head if it bothers you! It's ok…"

I gulped and nodded, pulling my arms out of my sleeves so I could put part of the jacket over my head. "Better," I sighed. "Dammit…it's just rain…why…?"

Emi looked at me guiltily as we turned and headed down an unknown street, the sidewalk and streets already wet, glistening under the streetlamps and neon signs of businesses lining the street. It was twilight. It had been darker than this when we'd first arrived here, so that told me we had been in there at least a day. Damn. Mom and the others were probably worried about us. And none of this looked familiar to me. Just great.

We walked down the street in silence for a while, nothing but the sound of rain and the occasional car passing us, splashing lightly at our feet as they passed by. The last thing I wanted was to be wet again, so I instinctively jumped back, but after a moment, I was able to relax. The rain was actually kind of warm, perfect for summer. I slowly lowered my jacket, wincing as the raindrops pounded my head, but I let them come. They were a nice contrast to the freezing water I'd endured just a while ago. I slipped my arms back into the sleeves.

"When did you get your memory back?" I asked in a low voice, shifting as I walked. I wasn't sure if I wanted her telling me anything that I hadn't already witnessed. "Was it when he zapped you in that alley?"

Emi shook her head. "No. I woke up at that warehouse after you had already been locked in the closet. They asked if I remembered them, and I said yes, from when they and Bob pushed me out of the truck. They said they'd help me remember, so they took me to another room and had me sit in a chair, where they plugged this machine into the back of my neck. They turned it on, and suddenly…I knew exactly who they were. I knew exactly what you were talking about when you said I'd absorbed something into my body. I remembered everything."

"Remembered your mission. Tell me about it. There's a lot of blanks Sylia's still trying to fill in. She had a feeling that the thing between ASI and Genom was a set-up, an inside job. Is that true?"

"Yes. Quincy wasn't thrilled at all that the United Nations wanted him to hand over the OMS, but it didn't take him long to figure out a way around that. Rather than just refuse – as he'd done at first – he figured if he just made it disappear, then it wouldn't be a problem. ASI is a major Genom subsidiary; they provide the C-Class Boomers with their muscle, literally."

"I know that."

"Well, he got together with Isamu and told him what he wanted to get done—"

"Wait. Isamu?" I inquired. "Who is that?" This wasn't a name I'd heard before.

"He's the president of ASI. One of the few people who knew about the OMS. He was very intrigued that Quincy wanted him to hold the OMS for him for a while. Isamu hand-picked several of his most trusted people – Bob, Nezumi, and Bruce – and told them about how the heist was going to get pulled off. And to make sure they'd get it done, Quincy lent him a 33D Boomer."

"You."

"Yes. 33Ds are assassin Boomers, but they're also more human-like than any other. One could blend in just fine without raising suspicion among anybody. He had me activated, and downloaded instructions straight into my brain. The three picked me up straight from Genom Tower, and we got dressed for the occasion – all in black, with masks. We had to look as much like regular goons as possible. We were even given assault rifles."

"We saw the security tape of the heist," I said. "You were the one who shot out the camera, right?"

"That was me," she said with a nod. "I suppose that's where the footage ended."

"Yeah. Why, did something happen after that?"

She gulped. "It was supposed to look real, the whole thing, even if it all didn't get caught on tape. The ones who had the OMS in that van were disposable people, people nobody in Genom or anywhere else would miss. So…we shot them all in the back of the head and left them there."

"They…they had to have known it'd be a setup!" I gasped. "They knew, right?!"

"The ones in the van? No. Nobody told them. You really think someone would have volunteered to deliver the OMS if they knew they'd die?" The way Emi asked that sent chills down my spine. Her voice was just so cold.

"No…probably not," I concurred. "So at what point did you decide to absorb the OMS? Was that in the plan at all?"

"It was," she said. "But as you pointed out to me, there was a problem, but I wasn't able to get it across to those guys before they put me under and wiped my memory."

"You mean…?"

"I realized it after I did it. They'd thought I'd be able to just unfuse with it and spit it out of my stomach or something," she said sourly. "But once it was done, I realized what had happened, and I knew undoing what I'd done would be nigh impossible. But I didn't know that…trying to remove it would kill me. I tried to tell Bruce but he said it was time to go under, and then he shocked me, and the next thing I knew, I woke up, in his undershirt and boxers…"

"Whoa whoa, start from the top. After the heist, what happened?"

"We sped away in the semi," she said, clearing her throat, "and we were supposed to lay low for a while until we could get back to the ASI building. But the police got on our tails; somebody had seen it and called them. Bob and Bruce sprayed them with gunfire, while Nezumi, who was at the wheel, yelled at me to absorb the thing. I took off the black outfit, took the OMS out of the case, and just…did it."

"So just in case you were caught, nobody could figure out what you stole," I surmised.

"That's right. We were…supposed to head back to the ASI building with the OMS and stay there for a couple days, and then some Genom people would come and take it back. It was only after they gave me my memory back that I understood the fire at the ASI building I saw on TV. It was them. They'd…expected the OMS to be there and it wasn't, and somebody got really mad."

"That's what Sylia thought too," I mumbled under my breath. "So she was right all along."

"It wouldn't have been there anyway."

"Huh?"

"Even if I wasn't dumped, it wouldn't have been there. Isamu never intended to give it back. He's been eyeing Quincy's position for years, and when he asked Isamu to keep an eye on the OMS, of course he was thrilled about it. He'd be able to have the power, even if he couldn't get the title. If Quincy couldn't get the OMS back, he'd be at Isamu's mercy, and I already said that ASI is the one who makes the muscles for the C-Class Boomers. If Quincy tried to do anything, Isamu could deploy as many Boomers as he wanted against anybody who came after him."

"How do you know all this? I thought Quincy had you on loan to them. That would mean your allegiance would be to him, not to Isamu."

"ASI's specialty is C-Class Boomers, not D-Class. Quincy had told him I'd obey him, be a good little drone, and Isamu took it at face value. He blabbed about the whole thing right in front of me before he deployed us to get the OMS. I played along, but of course I was going to make sure the OMS got back to Genom. I was prepared to assassinate him if I had to; it was my mission, after all."

"And you have to get rid of anybody who's in the way," I finished, grimacing. "I know the drill."

"I know about the other 33Ds," she said. "Boh came before me. I didn't know the specifics of his mission, only that he was terminated on his first one. He was one of the first. I came online a year after he did, and this is not my first mission. It's my fifth, though I don't remember anything of the first four. I was modeled to look like a young teenage girl, because no one would ever suspect someone as innocent-looking as me to be capable of anything malicious." I made a face, but before I could say anything she added, "Boh WAS the one who stabbed you and Michiko, right?"

"Yeah, that's right." I let out a sigh before inquiring, "So you getting your memory erased… Was that a part of the original plan?"

"No. Bruce, Bob, and Nezumi realized I wasn't entirely faithful to them, ASI, or Isamu, that I still intended to make sure the OMS got back to Genom, no matter what else they were planning. It wasn't that I never got the chance to tell them I couldn't unfuse; it was that I chose not to. Didn't matter if they weren't going to have it. I picked up my gun to shoot them, because they were in the way of that mission! And then…Bruce used the stun gun on me, and that was the last thing I saw before I woke up without knowing what had gone on. That was when they dumped me from the truck, and when I met you. I suppose it was just a temporary thing, knowing a Boomer like me could survive on my own. I don't think they entirely thought it through – they could've still brought me back to ASI and Isamu – but humans are irrational under duress."

"Don't start talking like a Boomer," I warned. "I know you're a Boomer, but…you've always been human to me. Don't change on me now."

"It's too late. I can't be the innocent Emi you knew before all this. I wish I could, but I can't self-delete my memory."

"What about your mission? You're gonna have to kill me too if you still intend on giving the OMS back."

"As far as I'm concerned," she said, stopping in her tracks and grabbing my shoulders, "you're my first memory! I only remembered the mission after I got to know you. My first priority is taking care of you. The mission is a moot point. I'm not sure they'd be thrilled about having me essentially being the OMS anyway! It could be a little more complicated than what Quincy had in mind!"

We both chuckled.

As we started walking again, I again took a look around at my surroundings. Some buildings had familiar names, but I couldn't place why I seemed to recognize them; I'd never been down this street before, had I? Then something told me to look up.

It was almost dark, but against the light of the taller buildings, I could make out something. Earth. Rock. Were we against a cliff? No…

"The Fault!!" I exclaimed. "I know where we are! We're in the Fault! Timex City!! I thought these buildings looked familiar!"

Emi looked at me, confused. "But…"

"I've driven by these buildings a thousand times coming to Raven's Garage! It's about another half-mile in that direction!" I said, pointing in the direction we were heading. "Damn, I'd thought we were in Kyoto judging by how long they drove us around in that van! I guess they were driving in circles to throw us off!" I let out a sigh of relief. "I just hope Mackie's there."

That half-mile was one of the longest of my life. After we continued in that direction, my fatigue from the past…day?...started to catch up with me. My stomach began growling loudly, and I tried to ignore it at first, but the pangs only got stronger. I knew I hadn't eaten in a long time, but now that the adrenaline rush from being a captive and under torture had worn off, the parts initially pushed away by my fight-or-flight survival instinct were starting to nag at me. I groaned and held my stomach.

"What's wrong?" Emi asked.

"Hungry…starving," I complained.

"Just a little further…"

"I know. I can make it. It's just annoying…"

We walked for several more minutes, with me mostly leaning on Emi now that my body was letting me know of its need for fuel. But once I saw the "RAVEN'S" sign lit up above the mustard-yellow garage, that was all the inspiration I needed. I squealed and took off towards it, Emi gasping my name as she ran after me. Almost there…almost…

"Noo. You're kidding," I whined, banging on the closed garage door. "Closed."

"He's probably with Sylia and your mom and the others looking for you," Emi said. "Am I right?"

"Probably. But…" I thought for a moment. There had to be another option. "That's right. His apartment building is another block down. Let's try there."

"Are you sure he'll be there?"

"No, but he's bound to be there sooner or later. C'mon."

By now, I was forcing myself to stay on my feet as I made myself walk one more block, down to an apartment building I pointed out to Emi, one that was aglow with light. It was six stories high, and unfortunately for me he lived on the top floor, but on the bright side there was an elevator, so I wouldn't have to go through one more torturous process, the one of climbing stairs. That was one piece of respite I never thought I'd be glad for. I was always someone who took the stairs when she could. But right now, that wasn't even something I was considering.

"Tokyo Timex Flats," Emi read aloud as we reached the parking lot. "Is this it?"

"Yup…" My strength drained out of me, and I dropped to my hands and knees. "Agh…help me up…"

She pulled me to my feet, putting an arm around her shoulder. "You really need something to eat," she said. "Just tell me where to go, and I'll help you get there."

I nodded, walking slowly with her support as we crossed the parking lot and entered the lobby of the apartment building. It was nothing fancy – wouldn't expect anything like that in this part of town – but as long as it had the elevators, which it did, it was fine. I told Emi to press the button for the sixth floor, and I almost fell over as the elevator took off faster than I expected, taking us up. Damn, had my legs atrophied or something? It hadn't been THAT long since I'd used them.

The elevator let us off on the sixth floor, and I was about to tell Emi to head down to apartment 611, but I didn't have to. I saw someone down the hallway, at that very door. Someone with black hair and stubble on his face. I recognized him.

"Mackie…" I called out. "Mackie!"

He turned, then did a double-take as his eyes practically bugged out of his head. "Yumeko!!" he yelled, sprinting over to us. He grabbed me by the shoulders, making me grimace, and Emi looked ready to step in and tell him not to do that. "Where have you been? What the hell happened to you two?!"

"It's a long story," I said. "Can I…come in and get something to eat? I can't say I was fed…"

"Of course, of course. Come on, you two."

I was never so happy to see a friendly face.

* * *

No sooner had Mackie made me a BLT than I was devouring it, savoring the flavors that burst in my mouth, as if I'd never eaten anything before. It was so wonderful to actually eat something again! My stomach ached, but instead of aching from hunger, it was in gratitude, like it too had been looking forward to having something in it again.

While I scarfed that and the potato chips he served with it down, he made a call to Sylia on his vidphone, putting her on the speaker as soon as he dialed the number.

"Sis," he said as soon as her face appeared on the screen, "it's a good thing you told me to come home and get some rest, that's all I can say. Right after I got here, Yumeko and Emi both showed up."

Sylia genuinely looked surprised, and repeated it out loud. In the background, I could hear Mom, Linna, and Nene all yelling in celebration. "Are they ok?" she asked.

"Emi's okay, but Yumeko looks like she's had it pretty rough. I'm just getting them something to eat, then I'll be bringing both of them back." He turned to me. "Do you want to talk to Sylia or your mom?"

"I'm fine," I said, which made Mackie cock his head in wonder, but he turned back to the phone.

"I think she'd rather wait until she gets there. I'm on my way."

"All right," Sylia said. "I'll see you in a bit."

Mackie hung up and came back to the kitchen. "Aren't you gonna eat anything?" he asked Emi, who hadn't touched her sandwich.

"I'm making sure Yumeko doesn't make herself sick," she replied. "As she said, she wasn't fed at all the whole time we were there."

"How long as it been?" I asked. "Because I have no idea. I just know it's at least been a day."

"You don't know?" he gasped. "Yumeko…it's been two days."

"…Two days?" I'd been locked up and tortured for two days straight?! It didn't seem like it had been that long at all! But at the same time, it had seemed like an eternity. "Two days?! God dammit! I don't believe it! How did I…survive two days like that?"

"What happened?" he asked as I buried my face in my hands.

"Doesn't matter," I said. "We're here, aren't we? Let's just get going to Sylia's so they don't worry anymore."

"Yumeko, show him," Emi suddenly said.

"Show him what?"

"Your legs."

I grimaced and stood up, turning so my back was to him, revealing the welts on the backs of my legs. Mackie cursed under his breath and shook his head as I picked up the remainder of my sandwich and bit into it. "They beat you," he growled. "I could tell that from the ones on your face. What else did they do?"

"It doesn't matter," I said again, holding up my hand. "Do you have any tape for this?"

"Sure, hold on…" He went to the hall closet to rummage for his first-aid kit, while I turned to Emi.

"What am I supposed to say?" I whispered. "I don't want to tell them."

"Which part?" she asked.

"Any of it!"

"So don't," she said simply.

"It's not that simple! The moment they see me they'll start interrogating me just like those guys did! And if they find out about that rat and his busy hands—"

"What rat?" Mackie interrupted, tape in hand, looking concerned. "Yumeko…what did they do?"

"Nothin'," I said haughtily, tossing my head.

He sighed and gingerly took my hand into his so he could tape up my fingers. "You don't have to tell me," he said as he wrapped the tape so that my pinky was bound to my ring finger, "but whatever did happen, Sis is gonna want to know. And so is Priss."

"I know." I jerked away my hand. "Thanks. But I'm a big girl."

"A big girl who's had more than her share of problems," he pointed out as I turned away. "But unlike your mother, you've at least been willing to fess up when you have a problem you can't handle by yourself."

"And I can handle this."

"And what is 'this'?" I heard him ask, followed by a hand on my shoulder. I cringed and instinctively grabbed the wrist the hand was attached to, spinning around and pulling it forward. With my other hand, now clenched in a fist, I socked him in the face and let go of his arm, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Yumeko!!" Emi gasped, pulling me back.

"Don't TOUCH me!!" I screamed, only to realize my mistake when I saw who it was I'd punched. Why had I punched him? He wasn't Nezumi. I'd thought… "M-Mackie…"

He gave a shake of his head and rubbed his eye, already swelling up. "Dang. You have a good swing, just like Priss…"

"I'm sorry," I stammered, stepping back. "I couldn't see you, I thought…I thought…" I dropped to my knees, hiding my face in my hands again. The tears I'd held back for the – apparently – past two days surged forward, threatening to break free. What a time to lose it.

I heard him sigh and sit up. "Yumeko, listen," he urged gently, his voice right in front of me. I looked up and saw him sitting there, just inches from me. "I don't know what those guys did to you, but we need to help you. You freaked just now, I know. You don't need to say you're sorry."

"I am sorry," I said again, tears streaking my face now. "It's just…every time that rat put a hand on me…it was to hurt me…"

"Okay," he said with a nod. "I'll keep my hands in your sight at all times, ok?" He put up his hands and grinned. "See? Here they are. I won't do that again."

"Heh…" That forced me to smile. "Okay."

"Now, is it ok if I help you up? We really should get going."

"That's fine."

* * *

The ride over to Sylia's building was quiet. Mackie looked uncomfortable with asking anything or doing anything sudden, as his new black eye was evidence enough that I wasn't to be surprised. Emi sat in the back seat and didn't say a word, while I yawned and looked out the window at the buildings we passed by. It seemed like so long ago I'd seen them, having been stuck in a cinder block for forever. I wondered if I'd ever be able to traverse the streets as freely as I had just a few days before. Would I ever feel the same doing so, feel safe? Tokyo was a dangerous city to start with, but I'd always felt comfortable getting around by myself; now the idea seemed a little…unlikely. I hoped this feeling would pass, and soon. I wasn't ready to become a recluse just because of some stupid thing that had happened that I had no control over.

No control… Damn. That hurt me. The fact that I'd been completely and utterly helpless to do anything to stop any of it. Mom and Sylia and the others, they'd never understand. I knew they'd had their share of trials before I came along, but I doubted any of them had had to go through something like this. I'd waged a two-day battle, and would have lost horribly had it not been for Emi, but now I was exhausted. I just wanted to go to sleep and forget about it all for a while. I just wanted to get back to normal.

But was that possible?

"We're here," Mackie said once we pulled up to the security gate.

"I don't wanna deal with them asking questions," I moaned as we went through and he found a parking spot. "I just wanna go to sleep. I don't even think I slept."

"It's just a while longer," he assured me. "Then I'm sure they'll let you sleep all you want."

"You swear?"

"I'll make sure of it, unless they all want matching black eyes," he joked.

"Sorry…"

"I told you, you don't need to apologize. Your nerves are frayed, I get it. Priss was the same way for a long time after her rape. Didn't like anyone, especially me, coming up behind her unexpectedly. I should be the one apologizing. I should've known better."

"Mom's still like that," I said. "Leon was there at the gym during my first therapy session, and he put a hand on Mom's shoulder and she elbowed him in the chest. Really threw me for a loop. She never did that with Hiroshi or Max, and when she did beat on them it was always in good fun." I frowned as I caught on to what he'd been insinuating. "And I wasn't raped, Mackie."

"Okay."

But why did I still have this sinking feeling in my stomach as I thought about it? If it wasn't rape, why did I feel so…ashamed? I just hugged myself as we all got out of the truck and headed inside, making a beeline for the elevators. Emi stuck close to my side, as if to ward off any more potential attackers. It confused me at first, but then I understood: she knew the others would probably 'attack' me once we got off the elevator, and I just smirked to myself. Her presumed assumption wasn't too far off; they probably would.

And if it wasn't for Mackie stepping in front of us as the elevator door opened, they would have.

"Hold it!" he yelled, holding his arms out in front of him when Linna and Nene started to charge forward. "She needs a little space."

"What happened to YOU?" Nene inquired, pointing at his face.

"I caught her off guard. C'mon." He urged them on backwards so Emi and I could get off the elevator. Mackie lowered his arms, and Nene ran up to me, looking worried and relieved at the same time.

"Yumeko. We were worried about you," she cried. "What happened?"

"Are you two ok?" Linna asked.

"We're fine," I said. "And Emi has her memory back. She has a lot of information that we might be able to use."

"It'll take a while," Emi said, "but I can explain everything to you."

Sylia, who had been standing back, gave a nod. "Let's go get comfortable, then. It seems you're not the only ones who've figured some things out."

Everyone filed into Sylia's apartment, but I stayed behind for a moment, turning to look at Mom, who also had been standing separate from the others. She walked up to me, uncertain of how I'd react to her.

"Yume," she started, "are you okay?"

"I'm ok, Mom," I replied. "A little beaten up, but I'm ok."

"I can see that." She reached to hug me, and I jumped at first, startled, but then relaxed and let her wrap her arms around me, taking care to do so gently. "I was so worried about you."

"Why didn't you come?" I asked, choking up. "After the explosion at the diner…why? The Boomers?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "Two dozen 55Cs. Had to bring out the Motoslaves to handle 'em all, and by the time they were all dead, you and Emi had disappeared into thin air. Sylia found your earrings in the diner…"

"They were no good anymore as a communicator," I said. "I didn't even think about them being trackers until after we got caught by the ASI guys."

"The ASI guys?" she repeated. "It wasn't Genom?"

"Uh…no. It was the guys who shoved Emi out of the semi."

She grimaced in thought. "Well, that's a new twist. Because the Boomers were definitely sent by Genom, and they set up that explosion too. I guess the ASI guys just used that to their own advantage."

"One of them told me they didn't rig the explosion or send out the Boomers," I concurred. "So I guess not only are they after each other, but we got caught in the middle."

"You could say that. I think we've got a hell of a fight on our hands."

"And we still have Emi to worry about. We still have to turn her over to the UN, or at least make sure she doesn't fall into Genom or ASI hands again! We need to protect her!"

"I know. But right now I'm worrying about you."

"I'm fine! I'm not the one to worry about!"

"You were the one who was missing for two days!"

"And I wouldn't have gotten out if it weren't for Emi coming to her senses! She killed the bastards!"

Mom went wide-eyed, then let out a whistle. "She did? Her? Well, shit, I gotta give her props for that. How'd she do it?"

"She…snapped one guy's neck and rammed the other one's head into the wall about a half-dozen times," I recalled, grimacing at the memory. "She snapped his neck so hard his head did a 180."

"Damn. Why didn't she do that to start with?"

"After she got her memory back, she…forgot I was her friend. She helped the other guys, uh…interrogate me, and it was while one of them was shocking me did she come around—"

"Shocking?" She gave me a look. "You mean they Tasered you?!"

"He used a stun gun, and they also gave me a water treatment, strung me up so I was forced to stand, locked me in a closet…"

"You should've…" She choked up and wiped at her eyes. "You should've told her to leave something for me. I'd have made damn sure they suffered more!" She gritted her teeth and made a fist, looking like she was going to punch the wall. "God damn it. Those lousy f—"

I turned around, showing her my legs. "That too," I added with a nervous laugh.

"Looks like they beat you with a belt," she said, seething evident in her voice.

"Yeah. Said I apparently never got spanked as a kid, so they wanted to make up for it."

"Too bad they're already dead," she growled. "Emi let them off WAY too easy. Pieces of shit…fucking pieces of shit…"

_I can't tell her,_ I thought as she raged to herself. _It's too much as it is. If I just told her that, she'd lose it for sure._ "Uh…dontcha wanna hear what Emi has to say?" I asked, pointing towards the door to Sylia's penthouse.

"Sure," she said, heaving a frustrated sigh. She looked at me quizzically. "Is that all?"

"Yeah. That's all."

"You look like you're not telling me something, Yume. I can see it."

"I'm just tired and the sandwich Mackie gave me was the first thing I've eaten in two days. What you see is someone who's really sore and really needs a good night's sleep. And, tomorrow, a really good breakfast." It was a half-truth, but as much as I was willing to admit.

"…Okay. So, what does your friend know?"

"I can't explain it all. I'll let her do the talking. She's probably already doing a lot of it right now."

"Let's go have a listen then."

I let out a small sigh as I followed her. She seemed like she already knew what I was hiding; why bother keeping it to myself? I just kept telling myself it was easier like this, at least for now. It had taken me almost a year to fess up about the party incident. I couldn't possibly admit to something much more serious than that barely a day after it happened. I wasn't ready to tell her, or anybody, but I had a feeling that it wasn't going to stay quiet until I was ready.

When me and Mom entered the penthouse, Emi was just finishing up about her mission and how she believed that Genom had blown up the ASI building, with Sylia, Nene, Mackie, and Linna all at full attention.

"…I'm afraid you all might be in danger," she said, hands tucked in her lap. "ASI and Genom are both willing to fight for the OMS, and because you're in the position of having to give it to the UN…you could say you're stuck between a rock and a hard place."

"The mission is to hand it over or destroy it, no matter the cost," Sylia stated. "I'm not about to simply destroy you just because it might be more convenient for us. We're going to get you to the UN, somehow."

"Say, is the UN helping out in any way?" Linna asked somewhat dryly. "They can't seriously just be waiting for it to fall into their lap. If they want it, they need to take some initiative to make sure they get it!"

"I am afraid we are on our own," she replied. "But seeing as Emi can shut down Boomers at will, this battle could work in our favor."

"I think it only works if she knows what Boomers are there," I interrupted, making everyone turn towards me in surprise. "The Boomers we fought near ASI shut down because Emi had been watching the evening news and saw them. The chef Boomer at the restaurant only worked better because she saw it and wanted it to so everyone would get their food faster. Her abilities aren't gonna be worth jack shit unless she's literally on the battlefield with us."

"She's right," Emi allowed. "We could hear the Boomers after the explosion at the diner, but I wasn't able to shut them down."

"But under those circumstances, maybe you just weren't able to concentrate," Nene added. "Maybe you don't need to see them; maybe you just need to be able to have a clear head."

"In any case," Sylia said, turning to Nene, "do you think you and Mackie could come up with a sort of portable scanner for Emi to use?"

"Do you have a plan?"

"Not yet, but in case we do need to take Emi with us somewhere and we run into trouble, it would be helpful if she knew what was there without having to see it. It would keep her out of harm's way."

"They wouldn't target me anyway. I have the OMS," Emi said.

"But do they know that if you die, the OMS is useless? No more than a lump of metal?"

She grimaced. "No, I don't think so."

"All the more reason for the precautions."

"You told us about ASI," Linna said, "now what about you and Yumeko? What happened after you were captured? How'd you—"

"Yumeko told me not to say anything about that," Emi said, cutting her off.

"You can tell 'em how you got us out though," I said with a smirk.

"That's not really necessary…"

"Sure it is. That's what Linna was about to ask anyway. Right?"

"Yeah," Linna admitted.

"The short version," Emi said, "is that I snapped Nezumi's neck and rammed Bruce's head into a concrete wall."

Everyone else in the room except for me and Mom grimaced at the imagery. "And what…provoked that?" Nene asked nervously.

"They were hurting Yumeko and wouldn't stop," she replied, not elaborating.

"They hurt me the whole time," I said flatly. "I'm not gonna talk about it. Yeah, it took two days for Emi to remember who the hell I was, but at least we're out of there. Done. Finito. End of story. Q.E.D. That's it."

"Well, I think that settles that," Sylia said as she stood up, in a tone that made me doubt her words. "Linna, Nene, Mackie, you can head home if you want."

"Nah," Nene said with a smile. "I think I'll work on that portable scanner. What were you thinking, something in the shape of a watch?"

"Whatever you can come up with. Have Mackie help you."

"I'm already here, so may as well," Mackie said with a shrug.

"What about you, Linna?" Sylia asked.

"I'll stick around for a while," she replied. "I'm too wired to hit the hay now."

"All right."

Nene and Mackie left to go work on how to make a portable scanner that wouldn't be painfully obvious to the casual observer, while Mom approached Sylia and Linna did likewise to me. "So, uh…" I said nervously, scratching the back of my head. "Are you still gonna expect me to come in to work tomorrow?"

She grabbed me and pulled me close in a tight hug, almost knocking the wind out of me. "Don't worry us like that again," she said, voice choking up. "And don't worry about work. Take whatever time you need. Don't push yourself. I know you tend to do that."

"First thing on my list is a long nap," I remarked. "As soon as I figure out what the hell Mom is asking Sylia about over there…" I motioned towards Mom, who was talking with Sylia in a voice so low I could barely even hear her, let alone make out the words. But she kept looking at me and pointing at me, so I assumed it was about me.

"She thinks you're hiding something," Emi mumbled.

"Why would she get that impression?" Linna asked, looking at me. "You're only her daughter, why on earth would she think YOU would be hiding anything?"

"Oh, can it," I said, rolling my eyes at her lowball sarcasm. "I'm not hiding anything."

"Well, you won't tell ME what happened."

"It's nothing impressive. Don't worry. A look at my face and legs are all you need."

"I see those, but…"

"Yumeko," Sylia called, "come over here."

I grimaced and did so, while she motioned at Linna and Emi to stay where they were. "Priss and I are a little concerned," she said in a low voice.

"Concerned about what?"

"She said you told her what you've been through over the last few days, but still feels you're holding something back. Now why would she think that?"

"Because she's anal. C'mon, I haven't slept in two days! Of course I look like hell! Maybe getting beat up has something to do with that too!"

"That's not it, Yumeko. Priss noticed it, and I've noticed it as well. You're holding yourself differently, and as she put it…your eyes are dead."

What the hell did that mean?

"I'm just tired."

"I'm worried, and Priss is worried, that you were raped. Were you?"

"No!"

"Then let me perform an exam. It won't take that long."

"You want to catalog my bumps and bruises, is that it?! What the hell for?!"

"Yume," Mom sighed, "I know the signs when I see them. You're keeping yourself apart from everybody, you're avoiding eye contact, you're…looking like you're ready to bite off the head of the next person who tries to talk with you…"

"I got beat up for two days! What do you want from me?!" I spat. Why the hell wouldn't they just leave me alone and let me go to the nearest guest room to lay down? That was all I wanted right now, was just to get some damned sleep!

"Just let me take a look," Sylia urged gently. "It'll take five minutes."

"I'll give you one," I warned, hugging myself, which seemed to only make Mom more worried. Or something. She gave me a look I'd never seen on her before. What was that look for? Did she really think I'd been raped? I hadn't been, so I had nothing to hide by consenting to the stupid exam. I just didn't want anybody seeing those parts again. As far as I was concerned, the only people who should've been allowed to look down there were lovers or spouses, and gynecologists. Not wanna-be rapists who thought that taking a girl's virginity sounded like fun and games!

I shivered at the memory as Sylia, Mom and I left the penthouse and headed down the hallway to the exam room. I just had to tell myself that this wasn't going to be like that, that she was just going to do as she said she'd do, an exam. It'd be started and over before I'd even know what was going on, just like getting a shot.

But still, I'd be dropping trou. Even so, this was being done willfully, unlike before, when it was more like my trou being yanked off and tossed to the side. At least she'd be gentle…right?

After taking off my shoes, socks, shorts, and panties, I climbed onto the table and stuck my feet in the stirrups, hugging myself again. It seemed cold in here all of a sudden, and not just because of the sudden rush of air on my privates. Sylia put on some gloves and crouched down to take a look.

"There's some tearing here…" she said, my whole body tightening up as I felt her fingers. As much as I wanted to deck her, I knew she didn't mean any harm. I told myself to relax and just let her do her job, but it was hard.

"Hurry it up," I moaned, trying not to cry. Why did she have to touch down there to see what had happened? I didn't want anybody down there, doing any type of exploring.

"I'm almost done, Yumeko." She turned to Mom, whose face was red with anger. "Partial transection of the hymen…"

"What's that mean?" she growled.

"It means it's torn a little bit."

"So she was raped!!"

"Not in the sense you're thinking," she corrected. "It looks more like it was digital."

"…A finger?"

"Or an object." Sylia looked up at me. "What happened, Yumeko?"

"Nothing…happened," I stammered through clenched teeth, still hugging myself. "It's nothing!!"

Mom walked up to me and put a hand on my shoulder lightly, like I was a china doll. "Yume, please," she whispered. "I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at those guys who did it to you. Tell us what happened."

"I wasn't raped!!"

"You were still violated by those sons of bitches."

"Don't gotta tell ME that! I KNOW what happened!!"

"So tell us."

I started shaking and took my legs out of the stirrups, sitting up, not bothering to reach for my panties or shorts yet. "It was…after he whipped me with the belt," I mumbled, hugging myself tight, head bowed. "He uncuffed me, then recuffed me with my arms behind my back and…he pushed me to the ground. He took off my shorts, then my panties, then…"

"Then?"

"I tried to get him away," I said, starting to cry. "But he held my legs apart with his knees. And he…put two fingers in, rammed them in. He was laughing the whole time."

Mom buried her face in her hands, trembling as she started fighting off tears as well.

"He took them out when I started bleeding, and said 'She really is a virgin!' Then he unzipped his pants to do it for real. But I…stopped him."

Mom lifted up her head. "What? How?"

"I…peed on him."

She let out a chuckle despite her tears. "You pissed on him? That's…different."

"It freaked him out enough to get him to stop."

"Where IS this warehouse you two escaped from? I'm gonna go down there and shoot up his corpse!!"

"Priss," Sylia said sternly.

"I thought about doing that too once he was dead, but I didn't," I said. "No use if you can't hear him scream and see him writhe in pain…" I got off the table and grabbed my panties and shorts. "Can I PLEASE go to bed now?! You saw what you wanted to see. I'm still a virgin, so everything's ok."

"It's NOT ok!!" Mom screamed. "Yume, that guy had his fingers in—"

"Priss!" Sylia snapped. "Step out!"

"What?!"

"I said step out! Being emotional is not going to help matters right now. I will talk with Yumeko while you cool your head."

"Cool my… Shit!!" She stormed out of the room.

"I was expecting that," I said, looking away. "She's mad. I knew she'd be."

"It's not aimed at you," she said slowly. "Why didn't you mention anything earlier?"

"Why would I? I knew it'd just make everyone upset. And it doesn't matter anyway, 'cause me and Emi got out," I choked. "What I went through…"

"…IS relevant," she finished. "Don't try to downplay anything that happened."

"It would've made everything ELSE irrelevant! Everybody would've concentrated on that when there was a lot of other shit that went on! I KNEW it'd be like that!! Didn't you see the look on Mom's face?! She was more horrified by this than by anything else!"

"Because she knows what it's like to be subject to an attack like that," she said. "No parent wants their daughter to go through something like that."

"For the last time, I wasn't raped!!"

"In a sense you were," she said gently. "It's still a violation of your body, of your being. It's still an extremely traumatizing experience. But it is one that we can help you get through. Are you willing to let us help you?"

"…I just feel dirty," I said, starting to cry again. "I can still feel his hands on me…"

It seemed like she was changing the subject, but she wasn't. "You're tired," she said, taking off her gloves before leading me out of the room and back to her penthouse. Mom was nowhere in sight. "I'd like to talk with you more about this tomorrow, but for right now I'm going to help you get some rest."

Entering the penthouse again, Sylia ignored Linna's questions as she led me to the bathroom, brushing her off with a "We'll discuss it later." Bending over the large tub, she started to draw a bath.

"What're you doing?" I asked.

"A bath will help you go to sleep," she answered, sprinkling some bath salts into the water. "These are lavender-scented, which too will help you with sleep."

"I've been awake for two days, so I don't think I'll need any help getting to sleep."

"It won't hurt," she said with a chuckle. "The hot water will help with your soreness as well. I'll bring you some towels and some sleepwear, and after you're done I'll take care of those welts on your face and legs for you. All right?"

"Um…sure," I stammered, feeling embarrassed. It felt like she was doting on me just because I'd been a little beaten up. "Thanks, Sylia."

After she left, I slowly stripped my clothes, setting them aside along with my leg sleeve. I stood over the tub, leaning forward to gaze into the water. I saw my reflection, and for the first time, the welts on my face. The one on my left cheek was higher-up than the one on my right, sitting just outside the corner of my eye. The right one was lower, smaller, about the size of a half-dollar, but still looked equally nasty. "Heh, looks worse than it feels," I remarked, gingerly touching the scabs before dipping a foot into the tub.

I jumped at how hot the water was; it was hotter than I would have ran it, but at the same time, it felt nice, especially compared to the ice-cold water I'd been subjected to earlier. Inch by inch, I lowered my leg into the water until I touched the bottom, then I stepped in with my other leg and gradually sat myself down. The welts on my legs, still somewhat fresh, stung at first, but the feeling went away almost immediately once I sat down in the tub.

I let out a sigh and sunk into the water until it was up to my neck, looking up at the ceiling, the air above me steamy from the water. This was nice. I couldn't remember the last time I'd taken a bath. Mom didn't have a bathtub in her apartment, only a shower, and it went likewise with me. In Sacramento the main bathroom had only a shower, but the private bathroom adjoining Irodia and Tyler's room had a bathtub. The thought of me asking to use it had never occurred to me; taking a shower was what had always come natural to me. But now that I was here, up to my neck in almost scalding-hot water, I wished I did have a tub in my apartment. A tub, a furo, something to sit and relax in. This wasn't bad at all. And Sylia was right; I could feel my muscles start to loosen up all over. And here I had thought running the showerhead over my neck and shoulders was the best thing for tight muscles.

After shampooing and conditioning my hair – which was tricky given my bound fingers, and I had to remind Sylia to change the tape now that I'd gotten it wet – I dipped the back of my head in the tub and scrubbed it out, then laid back again and closed my eyes. My limbs were turning to butter, but I didn't mind. I could've sat in here all night if I knew I wouldn't fall asleep and almost drown myself. I didn't care if I turned pruny; it was better to be a hot prune than a cold one.

There was only one thing on my mind at the moment, and it wasn't about the events that had transpired over the past few days. It was just about Sylia. She'd never let me use her tub before, or at least not since I was six years old and spending the night with her. As far as I could recall, she didn't let Mom or the others use it either. Maybe she felt bad for what I'd gone through? Or maybe she wasn't worried about me as a Knight Saber, but as my aunt?

_I'm thinking about this way too much,_ I thought. _I really need some sleep. I better get out before I do it in here!_

After stepping out of the tub and carefully drying myself off, I pulled on the pajamas that Sylia had brought in and went out to the main living area. No one was in there except for Sylia and Emi. "Where's Mom and Linna?" I asked.

"They're outside on the patio, talking," Sylia replied. "How was your bath?"

"It was great. Thanks."

"I have the ointment ready if you want me to put some on your legs."

"It might help."

She had me take off the pajama pants and lay down on the couch on my stomach. Opening the bottle, she squeezed a generous amount in her hands, and rubbed her hands together to warm it up before she rubbed it on the back of my legs.

"Mmm…" I moaned. "That feels good…"

"This will help with any residual stinging," she said. "I'll apply some more in the morning, and then they should be healed in two or three days."

"I can live with that. Oh." I lifted up my hand. "Can you change the tape on my fingers?"

"Of course."

Once she was done with the ointment, I pulled my pajama pants back on while she went to get some tape. After she came back, she slowly removed the old tape, put it aside, then wrapped the new tape around the fingers. "Did you set this yourself?" she inquired.

"Yeah, right after I had it broke," I quipped.

"It seems to be healing well. You did good. I'll give you a shot of some protein compound in the morning to speed up the healing, and then by tomorrow night it should be good as new."

"Thanks."

"You can go ahead and head to bed if you need to. I know you're tired."

I nodded and stood up. "Thanks again, Sylia."

"Not necessary," she said coolly.

I just smiled and headed for the nearest guest room, Emi following right behind me. I turned on the lamp next to the bed and crawled in. Oh! Sheets! I was actually laying down on something soft!! I pulled the covers over my shoulders and curled up. I was actually staying warm! I could get comfortable! I swore to myself I would never take this for granted again.

"They do care about you," Emi said. "You know they do."

"I know," I said, yawning. "Though Mom has a funny way of showing it sometimes."

"Give her time. I think she just needs to be able to wrap her head around it."

"What about me? I still gotta wrap my head around it!"

"You'll be okay," she assured me with a soft smile. "You're strong, and you have friends to help you."

"Yeah…"

I closed my eyes, and I felt her touch my shoulder as I stirred and got into a comfortable position. Things would be ok. They had to be.

She was still there when I fell asleep.


	6. Too much to ask for?

_Beginning of November. Cecilia and I had driven up to a remote spot in the mountains, almost completely cut off from civilization besides the road that had taken us up there._

_"This is a test," she said, nodding for me to take my backpack. "You will spend three days up here fending for yourself and reflecting on how your actions have affected people. We'll also see how well you can take care of yourself. You thought you could take care of yourself in Sacramento, but here, cut off from modern conveniences, we'll see if you can really pull it off."_

_"It's almost winter!" I pointed out in protest._

_"Which only adds to the test," she said. "Don't just survive, but thrive. I want you to write in your journal about anything that comes to mind. I want you to write letters to your friends and family about how you've hurt them. You'll have all the time in the world to think about it. Consider it carefully. You've come far over these last six weeks, Yumeko. I'm proud of the progress you've made. Let's see if you can make this final step."_

_"Well, if I'm out here by myself, I don't have a choice, do I?"_

_She smiled. "No. You don't. And that's precisely the point. If you can make it out here, you have the strength to get through anything. You may not think you can, but trust me, everyone, even you, has a strength in themselves they're often not aware of until the situation demands it."_

_"I'll do my best."_

_"Good." She climbed back into the van and started it up. "Best of luck to you."_

_She drove off, and I was left by myself, in the middle of nowhere. But somehow, I wasn't scared. I had the feeling I'd be ok. It was just a matter of applying myself…_

* * *

I slept so well that when I finally woke up in the morning, I actually forgot where I was. I sat up in bed, gave a stretch of my arms, and let out a loud yawn, smacking my lips as I suddenly realized I wasn't in my apartment. I looked around, panicked for a moment, then remembered I was in one of Sylia's guest rooms. The dull pain in my joints as I crawled out of bed reminded me of the trials of the past few days, and I groaned when I remembered Sylia wanted to talk with me this morning, since I was too tired last night. I secretly hoped she'd forgotten – it wasn't something I wanted to bring up again, and for damn good reason – but at the same time, I had the feeling she hadn't. She was never one to forget anything.

I went to the drawer and dug through the clothes in there; they were clothes I normally didn't wear, but were handy to have in case I ever was too tired to head home after a Boomer fight and decided to stay the night instead. I pulled out a bright green shirt, which was big so it was like a tent shirt, though Linna would've said it looked more like a poncho, a purple bra, and some black capris, along with a fresh pair of underwear. After putting them on, I pulled on a fresh pair of socks and combed my hair, gazing into the mirror on the dresser as I did so. I now had a clearer image of how I looked than I did when I looked at my reflection in the tub, and I could see what Sylia and Mom had meant when they said my eyes looked dead. There was no expression in them at all, just…vacant, and the circles under my eyes only seemed to enhance that. I grunted and put the comb down; maybe I was just tired still.

I remembered that I had left my sleeve and my old clothes in the bathroom, but when I turned around, they were laying across a chair by my bed, looking newly washed. I smiled and snatched the leg sleeve from the top of the pile, pulling it on, having to roll up the leg of the capris so I could adjust the top of it on my thigh. Once it was settled, I rolled down the leg and headed over to the penthouse, where everyone, including Emi, was gathered, wolfing down breakfast.

_Déjà vu, _I thought before Mom's voice interrupted me.

"How are you?" she asked, getting up and coming over to me the moment she saw me.

"I slept good," I replied. "I feel a lot better now."

"I would hope so. You only slept for twelve hours," she joked. "Sylia made waffles. Want any?"

"Sure!"

I sat down at the table, and I could feel my mouth start to water as I looked at the offerings spread out on the table, like I'd never had a real meal before in my life. I saw waffles, eggs, hash browns, sausage, bacon, just about everything for a full breakfast. I grabbed a little bit of everything, including an apple to save for the end of the meal, and attacked it, stuffing forkfuls of the hash browns in my mouth as I practically drowned the waffles in maple syrup and went for those next.

"You must be hungry," Linna chuckled.

"Last night's BLT didn't cut it," I said, biting off a chunk of my sausage. There was definitely something to be said for home cooking! Sylia didn't look the part, but she knew how to make some damn fine breakfast.

"So, how is the scanner coming along?" Sylia asked as Mackie cleared away the empty plates from the table.

"It's an interesting challenge," Nene admitted. "It's one thing to use it as part of an HUD, but we're talking about scaling that down to something, as I said earlier, about the size of a watch. We've got the major components figured out. Now it's just a matter of building it and making sure it works."

"It wouldn't be necessary if we could just set up another meeting with the UN," Linna suggested. "I admit I thought we'd be ok with the first meeting since it was in a public venue, but Genom has shown no remorse when it comes to attacking such places. You'd think they wouldn't want anyone to know about this."

"The public won't," Mom grunted. "Because Genom makes the police look the other way. They could just say a virus made those Boomers go nuts and that one of them caused the explosion at the Red Baron."

"The loss of Tora is a problem," Sylia interjected as she took a sip of her coffee. "He was one of the few really willing to stick out his neck for this. Finding someone else to meet up with, knowing what Tora's fate was, could be troublesome on their end."

"Why not just fly Emi to the UN Headquarters in New York?" Mom asked.

"Out of the question. It's apparent having her in public view is a problem. We're going to have to do this in a more secretive manner. Assuming the UN finds someone to take Tora's place, we may actually have to conduct the transfer in our hardsuits. I'd rather avoid another disaster and unnecessary loss of human life if I can."

"The UN has troops, doesn't it?" I grumbled, slamming my fist down on the table, making the dishes rattle. "Why don't they just send some over so we can hand Emi over to a group of them?"

"We can't draw attention to ourselves, Yumeko."

"Well, being incognito obviously didn't work, so what other option IS there?! Like Linna said, if they want the OMS so bad, they should just come to US and get it. It's not like anyone'll be able to bomb Lady 633! I feel bad about Tora dying, and of course I don't want anyone getting hurt, but we just can't do this on our own!! They need to take some initiative too!"

"I haven't heard back from my contact at the UN yet," she said. "All we can do is wait for him to call back, and we'll go from there." She nodded at everyone else. "Could you all excuse us for a moment?"

"I don't wanna do this now," I said firmly. "Can it wait?"

"I'd rather not wait," she said apologetically. "I'd rather get it over with now, as we may not have time later on."

Mom and Emi didn't look like they wanted to leave, but Nene, Linna, and Mackie ushered them out, heading for the patio. Sylia, meanwhile, led me to the living room, me sitting on the couch while she sat in a chair across from it.

"I know it's not a pleasant subject," she started, "and you were too tired last night for us to really go over it. But now that you've been able to rest and have a decent meal, I think we can begin our discussion."

"I don't really want to rehash it," I said. "We already talked about it. You're making a bigger deal of it than you should."

"I don't think so, because it's the one thing YOU are reluctant to discuss regarding the events of your two days in captivity. Therefore I think it's entirely appropriate, and necessary, for us to talk about it." She folded her hands in her lap. "Yumeko, you know what happened to your mother as a result of the attack on her. She was already a very private person before it happened, but afterwards, she almost became a recluse. She only really ventured out to be with us at our training sessions, and when she wasn't she would drink. The only reason that we even found out she was raped is because she found out she was pregnant with you. Rape is a horrible thing, and to find out you're pregnant from it is something else entirely. But in my opinion, if she hadn't found out about it and be forced to reexamine her behavior, I truly believe she would have destroyed herself, from the guilt, the shame, the feeling that she didn't think she could tell anyone, not even her closest friends.

"She didn't tell us because she felt she was the tough one, the one no one could ever touch. And to have that happen to her must have been…embarrassing for her, horrible. It is true that she had to change her behavior, because she had to raise you, but until two years ago, no one, not even any of us, knew the details of that night, because she was still ashamed. Actually talking about it only affirmed it for her that it happened. You are evidence of the events of that night, but I know she would have rather blocked out how it happened. She loves you dearly, Yumeko. You know that. But by talking about it, finally really talking about it, I believe she has finally accepted what has happened and is moving beyond that. She suffered for a long time. I don't want to see the same happen to you."

"I already…told you how it happened," I said, voice trembling like a leaf, just like my body. "I know Mom almost self-destructed because of it. But I'm not going to be like that. I would never want to be like her in that regard! And I'm not, because I was NOT raped!"

"You were still violated."

"With fingers. It's not real rape!"

"Then what would you call it?"

"What would I…? I don't know…" I turned away. I hadn't thought about what I would call it. Did it deserve to have a name, anyway? "It wasn't rape, but I still feel…it still feels…I don't know, it's…I feel like calling it rape is overkill. It wasn't real rape…it was…"

"That man may not have used 'that' equipment to do it, but he still used something to penetrate you. The term is called digital rape, and whether or not you consider it real rape, it was still a horrible thing that was done to you."

"Stop calling it that!" I cried, hugging myself as tears dripped off my chin onto my legs. I hadn't even known I was crying. "I can't put it on the same plane as Mom's. That was so much worse than what happened to me!"

"But it's still affected you, a lot," she said softly, getting up to sit next to me. She put a hand on my shoulder, which made me jump, but I didn't feel the urge to deck her for it. "Don't try to compare it to hers. It's your experience alone. Any emotions that it makes you feel are completely normal. But, Yumeko…" She put a finger under my chin and lifted my head up so I was facing her. "Don't close yourself off, all right? You have people here who are willing to help you."

"It wasn't supposed to happen, Sylia," I choked, falling into her arms, letting it all out. My shoulders shook as I cried. "I wasn't supposed to let it happen!"

"You fought all you could," she whispered, stroking my hair. "And don't try to put expectations on yourself that it wasn't supposed to happen just because you're an Asagiri, because your mother was attacked as well. Don't put that on yourself. It wasn't your fault."

After almost three days of having my guard up, there was finally someone I could let it down around. I let myself cry into Sylia's shoulder for a while, this burden finally lifting off my shoulders. I didn't have to go through this all by myself. Even if she personally didn't know what I'd gone through, at least she was there to lend an ear if and when I needed to talk. That in itself was a relief. It was nice to know she didn't blame me for it.

"Yumeko, I want you to stay off this job," she said. "You've been through a lot, and you need time to get settled again."

"I can't do that," I said hoarsely, pulling away slowly, sniffling. "I gotta help Emi out. She's helped me so much…I need to make sure I can do the same for her."

"That's noble of you, but I can't—"

"Please. Let me do this for her. I'll get through this, then I'll take all the time off you want me to. Just let me make sure Emi will be all right!"

Sylia allowed a small smile to cross her face. "We'll see what happens. But take it easy, ok? Promise me that."

"Okay. I will."

* * *

"Y'know…I don't think this is what she meant by taking it easy…"

"What else would you suggest?"

"Reading?"

"Ha!"

After Sylia had applied some more ointment to my legs and my face, and given me an injection of protein compound to help my pinky heal, I'd strode down to the private gym, with Emi hot on my heels. I wasn't exactly dressed for a session at the gym, but it was better than sitting in the guest room listening to the radio or just sulking. I had to do something productive, get my mind off of things, because I knew the others damn well weren't gonna let me do it. I just wanted some time to myself to do something that didn't remind me of what happened.

"I know you're trying to look out for me," I said, positioning myself in front of a punching bag, "but I told you, I can take care of myself."

"Yes, you did that just fine at the warehouse," she slandered. "Yumeko, please! Getting yourself worked up isn't going to do anything!"

"I was tied up for two days. I gotta get my limbs going again!" I slammed a fist into the bag. "Any more sitting still and I WILL go crazy! And I don't want my aunts, or my mom, telling me the proper way to deal with things, or asking any more questions. They've got bigger things to deal with anyway!" I slammed my other fist into the bag, letting out a yelp and yanking my hand back when my pinky began throbbing. "Sylia wants me off this job anyway…"

"See? You're not even healed yet."

I gave several flicks of the wrist to get the pain in my hand to go away faster, which didn't really work. "Nuts to that. I went to Genom Tower when my stab wounds weren't fully healed, and I came out on top." I didn't feel it necessary to say that those same wounds had reopened during that battle and it took me another month to recover as a result.

"I'm guessing you don't want to be removed from the job?" she inquired.

"She's insisting on it, but I'm also insisting on seeing this thing through. I want to make sure…" I hit the bag again, lightly, this time with my good fist. "…that you'll be ok."

"I think Sylia and the others will make sure of that. But you need to rest. Or at least not exert yourself."

I hit the bag several more times with the one good fist, but I quickly realized this wasn't going to be the outlet I wanted at all, not with my pinky still a day away from being healed. "This isn't gonna work," I grumbled, removing my fist from the bag. "Doing it one-handed just doesn't cut it."

"Try doing something that doesn't require you to pound anything. There's some weights over there."

"I see 'em." I walked over to the rack and picked up two three-kilo weights.

"You were tied up for two days, so your arms and shoulders must be sore. Doing arm exercises is probably the best thing."

"Y'think?" I said dryly, sitting down to do arm crunches with the weights. Emi just stood there and smiled as she watched me lift and lower the weights as slowly as I could muster. "What's that look for?"

"I remember you said that on your days off you go to work anyway just to work out. So it's no wonder you feel like you need to work out now that you have nothing to do."

"I'm doing this so I can avoid doing other things. Stretching out my arms is just part of it."

"You mean like talking with your mom?"

"Now why the hell would I want to talk with her?"

"I know you two are on the outs with each other, but you need to come together for this! She knows what you've gone through, and now you have an idea of how she felt! Who better to talk with at a time like this?"

"That rat wanted me to feel his fingers for the rest of my life! I'm not going to give him that. He WANTS me to dwell on it; I'm not going to do that!"

"And dwelling on it is exactly what you ARE going to do if you don't talk about it now," a voice bellowed from the doorway. Emi turned and I lifted up my head to see Mom standing there, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed. "Emi has a point, Yume."

"I'm not going over it again," I said firmly, dropping the weights and standing up. "I already talked with Sylia about it. I don't need to repeat myself with you."

"You don't need to," she said simply, walking up to me, her arms out in a gesture of 'I know how it is.' "So let me do the talking."

"And what are you going to say? That I should've fought harder, should've done something else besides what I did do?"

"No." She shook her head. "You did what you could…just like I did what I could. I know why you didn't tell me at first, and I can understand that. It's the same as why I didn't tell anybody at first either. Wasn't anybody's business; don't want anybody looking at you or treating you differently because of some shitty thing that happened. Don't want to get branded as a victim."

I kept my mouth shut and sat back down. Mom sat next to me.

"You feel like you have it written on your forehead wherever you go, so you don't go out, thinking people'll see it the moment they look at your face. You start doing things to distract you, thinking maybe if you forgot about it, it's like it never happened. But you get reminders. A touch, a voice…something that takes you back. Or, in my case, a baby, you. You can deny it all you want, but it'll always be there somewhere in your mind, taunting you, daring you to let a guy touch you the way he touched you. You're lucky the guy who raped you is dead. Mine's still out there—"

"I wasn't—"

"Just let me talk. At least you have that closure, knowing the guy who did it to you is dead, and can't do it to you again, or to anybody else. The one who did it to me is still out there. And honestly…knowing that kinda scares me shitless. I wanted you to grow up knowing of the danger that's out there. I didn't mean for that to turn into an all-out hatred of men. But still, I've been known to attract guys of the lowest sort just because I'm pretty and have a good singing voice. Guys think that'll translate into a show in bed, and a lot of the time I have to let them know the hard way they're never gonna find out! And you, you're my daughter, so guys like you because of that fact, plus the fact you have an attitude on you. Guys like spunk, and they think that, too, will translate into something in the bedroom."

"Doesn't seem fair, huh?" I said bitterly. "If they find out you're a virgin, they'll come after you harder, and if you put out, they'll still come after you hard because you put out. At least Craig didn't think with his dick."

Mom smirked. "If you ever see that guy again, are you gonna tell him what happened?"

"I don't…know. I don't even know if I'll see him again, but…part of me thinks he'd be understanding, and part of me doesn't know how he'd react. He never blamed me for anything, but I still wonder if…he'd be better off not knowing, if I did see him."

"If you trust him, you should tell him. That was a mistake I made, not telling Sylia, Linna, and Nene. Part of it was pride; I wondered if they'd believe me. But it came out eventually, and to my surprise they were very supportive; they didn't blame me at all. They just wished I told them from the start. And I wished you trusted me enough to be able to tell me from the start too."

"I knew how you'd react. I didn't want to…worry you."

"I'd worry either way, Yume. I'm your mom; that's my job. That comes before being a Knight Saber, but trust me, if I knew where that warehouse was I'd go down there in my suit and blast away at him until there was nothing left of the bastard."

I shook my head. "We've been fighting anyway. I thought you'd…blame me for it, just like you blamed me for getting addicted to hydromorphone."

"I would NEVER blame you for that," she said, putting a hand over mine. "And like I said, just let it out now. Whatever frustration, anger, whatever you feel or have, just let it out now. Don't keep it inside for the better part of twenty years like I did. It just eats you up. I don't want you to end up like me. Acknowledge it, deal with it, and get on with your life. It's easier said than done, but I want you to do it. I'd rather you blow up now than let it simmer the rest of your life. You've had a rough life; you deserve a chance to be happy. I don't want this getting in the way of that. Don't let it."

She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "Yume. You deserve better than this."

* * *

_Be happy?_

What had she meant by that? Did she not think I was happy? I had a steady job, I had my own apartment…wasn't that supposed to be enough? It may not have been happiness in terms of the old American dream of having a house with a white picket fence and a dog and 2.4 children, but I thought I was happy enough. But still, her words struck a chord with me for some reason. I was happy, wasn't I? With life? With myself?

I knew from the beginning the apartment I lived in now was only a temporary thing; I always intended to get a better place once I could afford to. It had just been the first place I found after I'd decided to move out, and wanted to do so as quickly as possible. It was alright, but I would've liked some place a little bigger. Still, given Tokyo prices and my income, that wasn't likely to happen. It was also the first time I'd ever come home to an empty space. Previously, growing up, Mom was usually there, and if she wasn't she'd leave a note saying where she was and when she'd be back, if she knew. And in Sacramento, Irodia was always there when I got back from school. Having Emi there when I got off work was a nice change; it was better than talking to myself for entertainment. But after this job was done I'd be alone again. Part of me didn't want to come home and find no one there to greet me.

I'd told Linna a few days ago that being alone wasn't the same as being lonely, and I still liked that to be true. And yet, at the same time…my own words were starting to ring hollow in my ears. Of course I wanted Craig there, but that wasn't going to happen, and I'd still promised I'd wait for him, so picking up another man was absolutely out of the question. There was always the option of getting a cat if I really did want someone to greet me when I came home, but somehow that just seemed pathetic, even if I did like cats. Certainly they were less high-maintenance than men, right?

Hmph, men. I swore, if I was ever hit on again by some lousy scumbag, he'd probably end up with his neck snapped like Nezumi. It almost made me feel sorry for Masahiro for the next time he'd surely hit on me.

And being a Knight Saber…I was happy when I was able to kill Boomers. It served as a nice form of stress relief, even if I did take the occasional beating. But still, comparing this to the time in my life when I wasn't a Knight Saber, didn't have to worry about Genom or anyone stalking me…maybe I really was happier back then, dodging paps and all. It may not have seemed like a simpler time, with Mom being a singer and all, but in a way it was. Don't know what you got till it's gone? Tell me about it.

So maybe I wasn't happy with the way things were, but who is? Everyone always says they'll be happy as soon as this or that changes, or they land a guy, or whatever. Most of the time, it's horse shit; making more money doesn't make someone happier. Landing a certain job doesn't do it; most of the time it just adds to the stress. And accomplishing a long-sought-after goal: what else is there to do once you've done it? It might've been happiness in the short-term, but what about the tradeoffs? Are they worth it?

I wanted long-term happiness; right now, I was only okay with how things were. Contentment and happiness were two completely different things. And it wasn't like I could change the current situation. I couldn't just quit the Knight Sabers and everything would be magically better. I knew the world didn't work that way.

"I think you should just stay off this job," Nene said, nodding in agreement with Sylia's earlier suggestion. We were sitting in the Italian restaurant across the street from Lady 633; she had offered to take me to lunch, to get me out of the building for a while. Emi had insisted upon going, and despite Nene wanting some one-on-one time with me, she caved, and so Emi was there too.

"You worried about what I'd do in battle?" I inquired, sipping on my iced tea. "I'll manage like I usually do."

"You went through a lot, and I don't think Sylia would suggest it unless she was really worried about your state of mind. Being in battle might bring back memories of what happened when you were in captivity."

"I know perfectly what happened. It's not like with the summit, where memories came back to me piece by piece."

She sighed and set down her glass. "We don't have to worry about you blacking out in the middle of battle anymore, but…we still worry. You're still a child, as much as you like to think you've grown up. You've been through an awful lot, and I know you're concerned for Emi's safety, just like she's concerned for yours. But you have to worry about yourself too."

"I think everyone else is already doing a fine job at that." The waiter arrived with our food, and after he set it down in front of us and left, I swirled some spaghetti around my fork and added, "What would you suggest I do anyway, if I can't take part in this mission? I'm not gonna just go hang out in Ginza while you and the others are off fighting."

"I dunno, do your tai chi. Or clean your apartment."

I gave her a look. "You really don't know, do you?"

She let out a small laugh. "No, not really. I've never been asked to not take part in one. I'm not sure what I'd do either."

I stuffed the spaghetti into my mouth. "So don't suggest anything. Damn, this is good."

Nene laughed again, as did Emi, who was stuffing her face as well. It wasn't long before I'd cleaned my plate and was mopping up the leftover sauce with the breadsticks from the basket in the middle of the table. Nene and Emi were barely able to get their own breadsticks before I'd eaten whatever ones they hadn't grabbed.

"I'm surprised you had room after that breakfast!" she remarked as I munched on the last breadstick.

"I guess food goes through you quick when you haven't eaten in a couple days," I said with a shrug, swallowing the last bit.

"Need to keep your strength up," Emi agreed, speaking for the first time since we'd ordered our food. "Miss Nene, have you come up with a way to make that scanner yet?"

The redhead nodded. "Just taking a much-needed breather right now. Once we get back, I'll go ahead and get that whipped together for you. Shouldn't take more than an hour or two with Mackie's help."

"Good." She looked solemn. "I don't really want to go to the UN, but I don't want anybody in danger on part of me either. If I can keep any Boomers from attacking while you're trying to get me to the UN people, then all the better for you. And besides, even if I don't want to go, I'd rather this thing be in anyone's hands but Genom's or ASI's."

"I'm wary of it," Nene admitted. "Even if they don't get the OMS back, they could just make another one."

"I doubt that."

Nene and I both looked at her. "How's that?" Nene asked.

Emi cleared her throat and leaned over the table, making sure to speak in a low voice. "Dr. Stingray wasn't able to perfect Boomer technology until 2022. It wasn't until a full ten years later that Quincy's technicians perfected the OMS technology to be able to send out Boomers at will to destroy parts of the city. Think about it. If he's so willing to get it back, wouldn't it stand to reason that either he's not able to build another one, or that he can't afford to waste another ten years making another one? Even if he wanted to make another one, he'd have to spend extra time making sure it's fusion-proof and tamper-proof, to make sure something like me controlling it doesn't happen again."

"Well, they've already made one, so making another one would probably take a shorter amount of time," I pointed out. "If they learned from their mistakes in making the first one…"

"It's not just that. If I'm still out there, he wouldn't be able to chance making a second one. Two people fighting for control over Boomers…you know he'd never put up with that. I think that's why there's that caveat in your mission: if you can't turn it over, destroy it."

"I'm not going to let that happen. It's a last resort, that's all it is."

"But I don't want to chance anybody getting hurt…especially you," she said, looking at me. "If there's no other option at the end of this..."

"We won't have to resort to that," I swore. "Don't talk that way. And what about you? Your kind isn't controlled by the OMS."

"No, 33Ds aren't," she concurred. "There are several types that can be individually programmed, like me, but in the case of Quincy wanting control over the city, I think easier is better. Hence him using the OMS; it has a better ease of use than going up to every Boomer and giving them orders. Might be…too expensive."

"I don't imagine money would be a worry with him," I said with a laugh. "But hey, as long as this thing stays out of his hands and Isamu's hands! Let's give him hell."

"I'll help!"

"Yeah!"

Nene buried her face in her hands and shook her head, making whimpering noises. "We don't even know what's gonna happen, you two! If you're gonna raise hell, at least wait until Sylia gives the go-ahead signal!"

"Don't worry," I assured her, clenching a fist in front of me with excitement. "You can trust me on that."

She just groaned again.

* * *

After lunch wrapped up, we had to head back to Lady 633 so Nene could finish putting together Emi's scanner. While she did that, I headed out to the patio, with Emi of course following close behind me. While air-conditioning was nice, sometimes nothing beats having the hot sun on your face and your skin. I closed my eyes and just soaked it in, arching my head back.

"You'll get burned if you stay like that," Emi said with a chuckle.

"Yes, Mommy." I went into the shade and sat down in one of the lounging chairs. "Not much cooler in the shade, though. Think you could bring out a drink for me? Tea, something?"

"Beat you to it," Linna said, coming outside, drinks in hand. "Great minds, huh?"

I took a glass from her and took a long sip. "Guess so. Who was Sylia talking to on the phone? I saw her taking a conference call when we got back."

"Her UN contact finally called back. She's talking with him and a few other UN people to try to set something up."

"Anything definite?"

"No. All I managed to hear was something about an airfield."

"I thought you would be at work today."

She took a sip and sat down in one of the other chairs. "Nah. We're gonna be busy trying to get this job wrapped up, so I figured I'd take the day off in case things take off faster than we anticipate. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. My legs don't look so bad, and my pinky should be healed by tonight."

"Your face looks better too."

"When do you think I can come back to work?"

"I told you, don't worry about it. Just take whatever time you think you need. I know you must be bored out of your mind with nothing to do, but just sitting out here can't be that bad."

I gave a shrug, allowing her that, as I took another sip of my drink. "I'm just used to keeping busy. Sitting still isn't something I've ever done very well."

"Even Sylia knows how to relax. Between the Sabers and running her stores, she's gotta, or she'll give herself a heart attack. And you can't do much good if you're in a hospital bed."

Emi slipped back into the penthouse as I nodded. "Maybe it's just the influence of Mom's rock 'n' roll lifestyle, and touring with her, and going places with my gymnastics team. Always someplace to go, something to do, bastards to punch out…"

Linna smiled. "Always the same no matter where you are, huh?"

"Yup…"

Between the heat and the fact I'd just had a very big lunch, I could feel my eyelids growing heavy. I took another sip of my drink before setting it down on the table and leaning back. "Linna," I said sleepily, "I never asked you…how'd your date go?"

"My date?" she repeated, surprised.

"Yeah. The one you had after I introduced Emi…"

"Oh, that." She laughed. "It was boring. He was the one who did all the talking, mostly about himself. Bragging about his mansion in district 4, his thirty-million-yen income, his hair…"

"I thought you liked wealthy men…"

"Not when they're so full of themselves they forget they're on a date. I think he thought the date was with the sound of his own voice. That's what it was like, I swear!"

"I guess he figured you'd fall in love with hearing him talk."

"Oh, God, no. I was ready to call for the check before the appetizers even arrived. That was one of the worst dates ever!"

"A toad, huh?"

"Heh. Yup, just another toad…"

"Y'know what? Princes are overrated." I yawned again, covering my mouth as I did so. _I'm so tired all of a sudden!_ "Screw all that."

Linna said something, pretending she was offended, but I didn't catch what she said. I was already nodding off. The summer heat was like a blanket that I had wrapped myself in and never wanted to come out of. It felt nice…comforting…

I could remember a time I had felt similar to how I felt now, having the heat wrapped around me. I was eight years old, and I was with Mom and Michiko at the beach, one of the few spots that weren't packed. Even back then, I didn't like the water, so I liked to play in the sand, making sand castles and drawing pictures. Mom was busy digging a hole, piling up the sand she'd dug up next to her, while Michiko kept coming back to me with buckets of wet sand so we could make a fortress.

"I think we should make a moat," she suggested. "So no invaders or dragons can get into the castle!"

"But can't dragons fly?" I asked. "They could just fly over the moat and breathe fire into the castle."

She giggled. "Well, maybe a knight cut off its wings and he's running back to the castle while the dragon's chasing him! And because the dragon's wings were cut off, it can't fly anymore!"

"But I don't think the dragon would be scared by the alligators in the moat. It'd probably just eat them."

"Not if there was a billion of them!"

"You can't fit a billion alligators in a moat!" I said, laughing loudly. "Maybe a million."

"Okay, a million alligators. They'd eat the dragon right up!"

"C'mere, Yume!" Mom called.

Michiko and I stood up and walked over to her. She was done digging the hole, and her fingernails had sand underneath them. "Whatcha doin', digging to America?" I asked.

"Nope." She pushed me into the hole, making me yelp as I fell in. Michiko giggled.

"Mama!!" I protested, grinning as I climbed out and took off running.

"Oh no you don't! I'm gonna bury you alive!!"

She ran after me, me giggling as I ran down the shoreline, the waves from Tokyo Bay splashing at my feet, washing away the footprints I left in the sand. Michiko was in hot pursuit too, but being that she wasn't as fast as Mom, she got left behind, but still kept up the chase nonetheless. It wasn't long before I found myself getting pushed again, this time face-first into the sand, and before I could get up I found myself thrown over Mom's shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and I squealed and kicked as Mom took me back to the hole and set me down again.

"I wanna help bury Yucchan!" Michiko protested.

"So help me!" Mom urged with a grin.

Both of them pushed sand on top of me, and with Mom holding me down with one arm and burying me with the other, there was no running away this time. "The sand's really warm!" I shouted, squirming.

"The sun does get really deep into the sand, doesn't it?" Mom concurred.

In a matter of minutes, I was completely buried in the sand, only my head being uncovered. I laughed. I couldn't get out! But somehow, I didn't mind at all. This was fun! "Mama, Micchan, you're so meeeean! I bet high tide'll come and you'll leave me here!"

"Yup!" Mom said with a grin, folding her arms over her chest.

"What?! Nooo, you won't do that!"

"Nope, but we WILL leave you here while we go get something to eat."

"But I'm hungry too!"

"Should've said something before I buried ya!" She grinned and crouched down. "Nah, I'll get ya out. But how about next time we get Michiko?"

"Hey!!" Michiko yelped.

"Or we can do Aunt Nene."

"Yeah!" I cheered. "Let's do Aunt Nene AND Micchan together!"

"Sounds like a plan!"

There wasn't many times we were able to go to the beach, that summer or any summer; the paparazzi could usually be seen taking pictures from the next hill or a boat in the Bay, which tended to ruin things. But when we did go, we managed to have a great time anyway. And in the end, at least one person would end up buried in the sand, and when Nene came along, it was usually her. Overall, it was a time of my life I really enjoyed. No worries about school or keeping out of trouble going on tour with Mom. I could just be a normal kid.

"Yumeko…"

"Nnn…" My eyes fluttered open, and through my sleep-blurred vision I could make out a black-haired girl standing over me. "Micchan…?"

"No, it's Linna," she replied with a smile.

"I fell asleep…?"

"Sure did, right in the middle of my rant. I decided to let you sleep; you looked so peaceful laying there and drooling."

I wiped at the corner of my mouth, which was, sure enough, wet with drool. "Oh, uh…sorry." I sat up. "How long have I been asleep?"

"A couple hours."

"What?! Why didn't you wake me?!"

"Figured I'd let you catch up."

"I already did twelve hours last night!"

"And none in the two days before that. Like I said, catching up."

"Where's Emi?"

"She's meditating in the guest room."

"Medi…?" I stood up. "She doesn't meditate, and I didn't teach her how to. Why's she doing that?"

Linna shrugged. "She's under stress too, you know. I went looking for her, and there she was, sitting on your bed. I figured I'd leave her alone; she looked like she was pretty deep into it."

"How long has she been doing that?"

"That was two hours ago, and when I checked on her again before coming out, she was still doing it."

"I can't blame her for looking for a way to relax too. I've been trying to, too. Um…what about Sylia? Is she still on that conference call?"

"She wrapped it up a little bit ago, and Nene and Mackie are just about done putting together that scanner for Emi."

"And what's Mom up to?"

"She's anxious to start killing some things, and by things, you know I mean Boomers." She rolled her eyes and let out a loud sigh. "She feels bad about what happened. She wishes she could've done something to find you before they did that to you."

"Well, she couldn't, and it happened. But I'm here now, and I'm ready to kill something too!"

"Before you do that, let's see if Sylia's got a plan for what we're gonna be doing now."

"Hope it's something good."

"You're not the only one."

Linna and I headed back into the penthouse, but when we turned to look for Sylia, she wasn't there. We'd come in just in time, on the contrary, to see Mom coming in. "Sylia wants us all down in the bay," she said, jabbing her thumb behind her. "Yume, go get Emi. She's coming too."

"Okay."

While Mom and Linna went one way down the hall, I went the other way, heading towards my temporary bedroom, assuming she was still there like Linna had said she was. I knocked on the door first, but when I got no answer, I went ahead and opened it, sticking my head in. Emi was sitting cross-legged on the bed, both hands on her knees, head ever so slightly bowed. I stepped through the doorway and walked over to her.

"Emi?" I put a hand on her shoulder. "I think we gotta get going."

She lifted up her head and opened her eyes. "…Is it that time already?" she asked slowly, blinking several times.

"Yeah. Don't tell me you fell asleep sitting like that."

"I didn't," she assured me with a smile.

"What were you doing, trying to achieve nirvana?"

"No, just relaxing. Being in the sun isn't quite my style, though."

"Fair enough. I just need to make a pit stop first, and then we'll head down, ok?"

Emi just nodded as I ran down the hallway to the nearest restroom to relieve my bladder in a spot that wasn't on the floor. It had seemed like ever since our escape, whenever I felt the slightest urge to go, I'd make a beeline straight for the toilet. Lord knew I never wanted to hold it for as long as I had to while I was in captivity, or have to relieve myself to ward off danger. It was slightly embarrassing when I thought about it, but given the alternative, well, I really had no alternative. I wasn't about to let Nezumi continue his attack, that was for damn sure!

_He's not worth your time!,_ my mind screamed as I flushed the toilet and washed my hands at the sink. _Don't waste your brain power thinking about that shithead! What're you doing that for? He's dead! Emi made sure he'd never hurt anyone again!_

"Still plays in my head…" I said to myself. "Can't help it…"

_There's no way you'll be able to go out into battle if you have it on replay the whole time! Wouldn't want to get your friends into anything you couldn't get them out of…_

"That won't happen. I won't let it happen! Not again!"

I splashed my face several times with cold water. I had to stop thinking about it! There were bigger things to worry about at the moment! First off, I had to see what we were gonna be suiting up for downstairs…but I supposed if it came down to it, I could always picture any Boomers we fought in the future as that rat-faced bastard. I knew it wouldn't be quite the same, but it would have to do.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, Emi was just emerging from the bedroom, carrying her hoodie jacket over one shoulder. "What were you doing?" I asked.

"Had to get my shoes on and get my jacket," she replied.

"Okay. Let's go."

Going down the eight or so floors to the hardsuit bay was a long trip, and not only because I decided to take the stairs instead of the elevator. I didn't want to rush this any more than I had to, job be damned. I wanted as much time with Emi as I could get before this second attempt to hand her off to the UN.

But as luck would have it, neither of us really could think of anything to talk about. Emi looked about as nervous as I felt, but she also looked…resigned. Resigned to what? That she knew she couldn't stay with me forever?

"I'm sorry I've been so much trouble," she said suddenly.

"You haven't been any trouble," I refuted. "It's not your fault any of this happened. I never blamed you for anything, not even…the stuff that went on at the warehouse. I'm just glad you came to your senses. If he'd kept using that stun gun for much longer, I…I know I would've said anything to get him to stop…"

"He was a sadist, and mad that he wasn't able to…have you. Even if you'd said stuff about being a Knight Saber, I doubt he would have stopped. You would've had to spill your life story to get him to stop, in the state of mind he was in."

"If I'd…said anything…Sylia would've killed me."

"I don't think so. She seems like she would know that people can only put up with so much before they go crazy and say things they swore on their graves never to say."

"I was close, though…too close…"

We were still two floors away from the hardsuit bay, but I found myself starting to get winded already, an unusual sensation since I'd made this trip on foot a hundred times before. Granted, I hadn't moved around a whole lot today, and even when Emi, Nene and I went to the restaurant across the street, we'd taken the elevator to the ground level. Maybe I was just dehydrated.

By the time we got down to the basement, I was dizzy. I fell against Emi once we were at the bottom of the stairs, but quickly recovered, saying I just needed some water and I would be ok. But she didn't buy it for a moment.

"Maybe you really should sit this out," she sighed. "You barely made it down the stairs."

"I DOUBT Sylia would call me down here just to say I'm being left behind," I snapped. "I like to think I know her better than that. I bet she changed her mind and decided she wants me to have a part in this after all." At the same time, I did have to admit that I'd been part of the summit bodyguarding, even though Sylia had said back then I was to stay behind in the event of anything happening, unless I was specifically called to help out. But this had to be different. It just had to be.

After putting my hand on the fingerprint reader and it saying "WELCOME YUMEKO," Emi and I both stepped through the door into the hardsuit bay, where everyone stood in their innerwear except for Nene, who was still fastening the back of hers. Sylia and Mom turned their heads in our direction when they heard the door open.

"Good, you're here," Sylia said.

"I suppose we're trying this again, huh?" I asked.

"Yes." She handed Emi what looked like a watch. "This is the scanner Nene was working on for you. It will pick up any Boomers within a two-kilometer range and will also display what types they are."

Emi fastened it around her right wrist. "And you think this should be enough for me to be able to shut down any Boomers within that range?"

"I'm hoping so."

"And if it doesn't?"

"We'll be ready to fight." She turned to look at everyone. "We're taking the Motoslaves and the KnightWing."

I gulped and asked, "Linna said you mentioned an airfield. Is that where we're going?"

"Yes. There's a private airfield just west of Tokyo where we'll be meeting up with some representatives from the UN. On standby will be several dozen UN troops in the event something happens."

"Probably about as effective as the ADP," Mom muttered under her breath, which made me crack a smile. Ever since I'd been to the other world, I'd gotten an idea of just what she'd been talking about all this time.

"Probably why we're going in our suits," Linna added with a grin, nudging Mom in the side with her elbow.

"Everyone, this is our last shot at getting the OMS to the United Nations," Sylia stated clearly, but with a seriousness in her voice that was impossible to miss. "This is all or nothing. This is most likely not going to be as straightforward as it seems, hence the precautions of using the KnightWing so we can get in and get out as quickly as possible. As secretive as we can try to make this, I am fully anticipating another Boomer attack. Genom wasn't able to get it back the first time, so it's likely this will be on a much bigger scale than we saw at the Red Baron. So I want everyone to bring their Motoslaves online as soon as we have liftoff. I am hoping Emi's scanner will be enough, but if it's not, I'd like us all to be ready."

She turned to me. "Yumeko, you know the mission. And I know you treat Emi like a friend, and she has done a lot for you and for us. However, if we are not able to deliver the OMS to the UN people…"

"Sylia…" I said. "Don't make me…"

"I'm sorry. If we're not able to make the transfer, I want you to shoot Emi. The OMS is better off destroyed than back in Genom's or ASI's hands."

"You're saying that and she's right here!!" I yelled, gesturing at the girl next to me. "Why me?!"

"Because you ARE my friend," Emi replied slowly, a neutral expression on her face. "I know the risks you and your friends are taking for me, and I don't want anyone else hurt. If that's what has to happen, then I'm willing to go along with it."

"I'm not going to shoot you!" I barked. "I'll do whatever it takes to get you to the UN guys, but I am NOT going to shoot you! You hear me?! It's NOT happening! I'm gonna get you there or die trying! Whatever Boomers come our way, they'll have to take me down first!"

She just smiled. "Then let's all just do our best."

"That's the only thing we can ever do," Nene said with a small shrug.

Mom had a pained expression on her face, and I knew why. She'd had to shoot a friend herself, to save the city. I wasn't quite in the same boat, and it wasn't a situation where I absolutely HAD to shoot Emi, but I could understand why she gave me the look she did. "Don't worry, Yume," she assured me, forcing a smile. "We'll get her there."

"You swear?"

She shook her head. "I can't promise that, but you have my word I will help you make sure Emi stays safe."

I smiled. "Thanks, Mom."

Linna interrupted. "You're the only one not in your innerwear," she chided, wagging her finger at me, but grinning. "You can't get in your suit like that!"

"I know! So let me get ready already!"

I stripped down my clothes and snatched up my innerwear, stepping into the legs. I flinched at first when I had to tug the fabric over my still-healing welts, but once I had them over my legs, the pain subsided, and I was able to get my arms into the sleeves and fasten the back. Once I had it on, I went over to my hardsuit and stepped in, the armor folding over my limbs and torso, snapping into place.

"So this is you," Emi said, looking me over. "This is my friend, the purple Knight Saber."

I nodded and motioned for us to follow the others so we could board the KnightWing. The last step in our journey together was just taking shape. And here I was, no longer helpless, no longer alone and left to fight by myself.

"Bring it on, you bastards," I muttered. "Whatever you've got, RavenKnight is ready to deal it right back to ya."


	7. Emi's trump card

"Twenty-five minutes until we get to Takaya Airfield."

Sylia's announcement came as the rest of us were conducting tests on our suits, to make sure everything was in working order. I opened and closed my wings several times, and checked my Knuckle Bomber to make sure it had enough charges. It did, but given the number of Boomers Sylia seemed sure we could face, 'enough' seemed like the wrong word to use. Sure, it had been upgraded several months ago so that it could hold eight charges instead of six, but that still seemed woefully inadequate, and unfortunately she couldn't up the number of discs I could carry either, so I still had ten to each arm. My Leg Bombers also now had eight charges to each leg, which, again, seemed inadequate, but at least I always had my laserswords. No limit on how many times I could use those, and oh, did I use them a lot. My pulse-strikers remained the same as well; Sylia didn't want to make the power pack any bigger, as it could have interfered with my fighting ability and drawn power away from my other weapons.

Guess I couldn't complain. She always did have a good reason for doing, or not doing, what she did, even if I didn't like it.

"You look calm enough," Emi observed, looking at her scanner every couple of seconds. "I'm a little nervous myself."

"Just gotta think of it as just another battle," I said casually, though I knew it wasn't going to be quite like that. I'd learned from experience that even if it was the usual 55C or 12Bs sent out, sheer number could be enough to overwhelm even the veterans of battle. "Picking up anything yet?"

"No, no combat models, at least. But my stomach just started hurting, so Sylia may be on to something."

"That thing only picks stuff up within two kilometers, right?"

"That's what she said."

"That's ok. If anything shows up on there, just do your thing."

Emi gave an embarrassed smile. "Uh, sure…"

Linna was examining her ribbons, but she lifted up her head and looked at me upon my remark. "Aren't you being a bit cavalier about this?" she remarked.

"Well, it's either that or bite my nails worrying, but it's kinda hard to do that when you're in a hardsuit," I said.

"You're just sounding an awful lot like you did in the very beginning. 'Oh, I can handle it, it's nothing.' Feeling invincible now that you got through that experience at the warehouse?"

"Hey, compared to that, this'll be a piece of cake."

"You only feel that way because you know things could have turned out MUCH worse than they did. But don't let that deceive you into thinking that this battle is gonna be any easier than usual."

"That's assuming there WILL be a battle. But hey, if there is, we'll take 'em down like we usually do."

"Linna just doesn't want you getting careless," Sylia cut in, pulling on her helmet. "I don't either. You do know the risks here."

"Of course I do. I'm just…" I tucked my helmet under my arm and sighed, flashing her a small smile. "I dunno how to put it. I'm just…looking forward to this, for some reason. Sorry if I'm seeming a little too optimistic."

"Optimism is fine, as long as you temper it with realism."

"I know, I know."

"She just wants to kick something's ass," Mom quipped with a snicker.

I couldn't explain it; words didn't seem adequate enough. I really was looking forward to this. Sure, it was a given that something was gonna go wrong and we'd have to fight Boomers, and I'd admit that I'd be disappointed if this turned out to be smooth sailing – nothing ever went right in this line of work, after all – and maybe I really was feeling a bit invincible thanks to my recent experiences. But maybe it wasn't invincibility; maybe it was confidence, confidence I could get through anything, any hellish experience. Nah…maybe I was getting too confident about my assumed confidence; it really HAD been a hellish two days that I would never want to go through again. An adrenaline rush from actually surviving it, perhaps? Maybe, but I certainly didn't recall feeling that way after I'd woken up in the hospital after the summit.

What was this feeling? I really did feel happy, excited. I didn't feel this way after the summit, and I didn't feel this way after any of the beatings I'd taken or getting shot in the shoulder or my standoff at the motel in the States. Granted, this latest thing had lasted a hell of a lot longer, so maybe it was just that much of a thrill when I finally was able to get away from it. I knew it was a huge thrill when I was able to walk without my brace for the first time, do my gymnastic workouts for the first time. Maybe that was it.

I may not have known what it was, but I sure as hell intended on applying it in the battlefield tonight. The damn Boomers wouldn't know what hit them. It was my intention to walk off into the sunset with Emi with the UN people and a pile of dead Boomers behind me. Sure, I was fatalistic at times, but the fact I had a friend's life at stake wanted me to make sure that this mission, if any, would turn out right. It just had to.

But no one ever said things always turned out the way you wanted them to.

"Fifteen minutes," Mackie called out. "Just about—oh shit!!"

The plane began to shake, giving a jerk when something outside apparently slammed into one of the wings. Emi grabbed onto her seat, while everyone else lost their footing and stumbled around. "Looks like our welcoming committee!" Mom quipped, pulling on her helmet.

"Status!" Sylia snapped.

"We've got Boomers firing on us from the ground!" Mackie yelled. "Moderate damage to the left wing!"

"Try to dodge them!"

The plane shook again, this time making me fall on my ass, my helmet knocked out from under my arm. "I'm trying!" he shouted, wincing when the plane shook again as it took another hit. "Damn! Damage to the right wing too!"

"I didn't think they'd be able to detect me," Emi said meekly. "And we're still a ways out from the airfield."

"There's no time to complain about that," Sylia said. "How bad is the damage to the right wing, Mackie?"

Nene looked out the window and replied before Mackie could. "Just caught fire!" she squeaked. "Looks like the vortex generator got taken out! We're not gonna be able to stay in the air!"

Sylia marched up to the cockpit. "You're going to need to find a place to set her down."

"We're still above the city! There's nowhere to put her down at, not in VTOL mode!" Mackie protested. "Unless you're suggesting…"

"Yes. The highway. It's the only spot we can do it without outright crashing."

"You're kidding!"

"I'm not. Do it."

I got to my feet and looked out one of the other windows. "You may wanna do it fast," I suggested. "Left wing just caught fire too."

Sylia nodded. "Take us down, Mackie. Go to STOL mode."

I grunted and snatched up my helmet, yanking it onto my head. It seemed strange that only the wings were damaged, but at the same time, it made sense; if Genom was hell-bent on getting Emi back, they'd have to leave the fuselage intact. No way she could survive if the plane did a nose-dive into the ground. But setting us down, on the highway even, seemed like it'd be a trap too, and Sylia looked like she knew it. Trying to go into VTOL mode would've made us sitting ducks, but at least STOL mode would keep us moving for a little bit longer.

"Approaching Highway 77!" Mackie announced.

"Good. Everyone, hang on. This could be a little bumpy," Sylia warned.

The aircraft started to lean to the right, thanks to the generator getting taken out, and Mackie was doing his damndest to keep it level, but everyone still had to hold on to something to keep from toppling over. As we dropped altitude, I could feel it start to rattle underneath my feet. This was definitely going to be a rough landing, and out the window I could see what looked like mouth cannon blasts fly past us, barely missing the vortex generator on the left wing. I grimaced and grabbed on to whatever I could.

"Hundred feet up!" Mackie shouted. "Eighty…fifty…hang on!!"

The craft landed on the highway with a thud, throwing Mom and Nene to the floor, while the rest of us let out a loud yell of surprise and held on for dear life. I could hear the whole cargo area groan with the impact of the landing, and next to me, Emi was groaning right along with it, eyes squeezed shut. It seemed like a long time before we rolled to a stop, although in reality it was probably only a few seconds. Still, we had no time to get our bearings before Sylia started barking orders.

"Everyone, get to your Motoslaves," she ordered.

"Emi," I said, turning to her, "what's showing up on that scanner?"

"Um…" She looked down at it. "Thirty 55C Boomers…"

"Damn. They're serious! Well, shut them down!"

"Trust me, I'm wishing for it!"

"We're going to Plan B, Yumeko," Sylia said, climbing onto her motorcycle, along with Mom and Linna.

"Okay, and what's that?" I asked nervously.

"We're going to stay here and fight the Boomers. While we keep them busy, you're going to continue down Highway 77 until you get to Takaya Airfield."

"WHAT?!"

"It's the only opportunity we've got. We're going out now, and once we've lured the Boomers away from the KnightWing, you will head west on 77 with Emi." The roar of the motorcycles filled the air as everyone, including Nene, started them up. "We'll keep them busy as long as we can, but if any come after you and Emi you may be on your own."

"Gee, thanks. Can't somebody come with me to provide cover fire or something?"

"Let them fight, Yumeko," Emi interjected. "They're gonna need everyone if they're gonna try to keep them at bay."

"She's right," Sylia said. "And you know what to do if you can't make it there."

"I know," I replied. "I'm not gonna let it come to that, though."

"Let's hope it doesn't. Mackie, open the ramp up."

"Roger!" he called out. At that moment, the ramp opened up and lowered, revealing a group of very pissed-off-looking Boomers in the distance. I stepped to the side, giving the others room to do their thing.

"All right," Sylia said. "Knight Sabers, go!!"

All four took off down the ramp on their motorcycles, promptly changing them into Motoslave form once they were on the street. The group of Boomers in the distance, meanwhile, was making good ground, and started firing their mouth cannons at the approaching Sabers. I grimaced; why weren't any of them shutting down? I ran my scanner; the group consisted of twenty 55C Boomers, ten less than what Emi had picked up on hers. So where the hell had the other ten gone to? I didn't like this at all.

"There!" Emi exclaimed, pointing. Twelve of the twenty promptly froze, having shut down mid-charge. That only left eight for my mom and friends to deal with.

"Why the hell didn't all of them shut down?" I demanded. "They're all 55Cs! They should've all shut down!"

"I don't know!" Emi said defensively, looking just as stunned as I felt. "They should be under OMS control too! Maybe…"

"Maybe what?!"

"Maybe Genom or Quincy figured out I can control it, so they programmed some to be independent of it…"

"Damn. That WOULD be our luck. But where's the other ten?"

I ran my scanner again, looking for Boomers that weren't part of the group on the highway. It didn't take me long to find them; I found them hiding in between buildings on either side of the highway as well as on the rooftops.

"They're waiting?"

"What're they waiting for?" Emi asked.

"Us," I muttered.

Ten Boomers…I could take them on by myself, with Monsoon's help. But I had Emi to look out for, and I knew if I turned my back or was distracted for a second, she'd be caught. If I left her in the KnightWing and went to take them on, at least she'd be safe in the KnightWing, but then again, the Boomers could've blown their way into it and taken her anyway, and Mackie, the only other person in the craft, would be helpless to do anything and would likely get killed. My other option was to head out on my bike with Emi, in the other direction, as fast as the thing could carry me. A third option was that since there were only eight Boomers for the others to fight, that they would get dispatched quickly and then they could take care of the ten that were hiding out. But no…that seemed too easy.

The eight on the highway were quickly killed off, like I'd imagined they would be, and the ten hiding Boomers proceeded to pounce on them like cats on mice. Fortunately, the Sabers weren't any ordinary mice, and they were able to defend against the Boomers' attacks. I even saw Mom pop out of the front of Typhoon III and get up close and personal with one of them, slamming her Knuckle Bomber into one's stomach before shooting several of her needles through its chest.

"Yumeko!" Sylia yelled over the comm. "Get going!"

"R-right!" I affirmed, climbing on my bike. "Emi, get on!"

She climbed on behind me, and I revved up the bike, tucking my lower lip in. This all seemed so wrong. This was going too perfect. But I didn't have any more time to question it. Sylia was right; this was my one shot to get Emi to the airfield, and I had to take it. I waited a few seconds, making sure the remaining Boomers were properly distracted by the others, then charged down the ramp. I did a 180-degree spin, making the tires squeal against the pavement, and sped past the ramp, under the left wing of the KnightWing, and down the highway, the sounds of battle quickly dying out behind me as I kicked up the speed to 150 kilometers an hour, the needle slowly ticking up.

"The airfield is another twenty kilometers away," I said. "We'll be there in no time." No more Boomers were coming up on my scanner, which made let out a sigh of relief.

"Will they be ok? Your friends?" Emi called out over the roar of the engine and the wind blowing against us.

"They did this for a long time before I came around. If anyone knows what they're doing, it's them," I said confidently.

We drove in silence for the next minute or so, Emi hanging on tight to my waist, not only due to the speed we were going at, but it also seemed like she didn't want to let go. After all, in a matter of minutes I'd have to hand her over to the UN officials, and neither of us knew what was going to happen after that. I wasn't supposed to worry about that, and I wouldn't have if it was just the OMS I was handing over. But this was my friend; Boomer she may have been, but she was still my friend, and someone who had saved my life.

"I'm glad I met you," I said. "Don't ever doubt that, ok?"

"I'm glad we met too," Emi replied. She took away one arm from around my waist to look at her scanner again. "Um…Yumeko?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure your friends killed them?"

"What're you talking about?"

"Well…"

She didn't need to finish. At that moment, my HUD bleeped in warning, and on the display came up a number of Boomers, all of them behind us. But it wasn't just ten. There were fifteen, all 55Cs, and a few seconds later, two more came up, types unknown.

"Where the hell did THEY come from?!" I yelled, veering the bike to the left when a blast from a mouth cannon hit the pavement and exploded just to the right of us.

"I don't know! They weren't there a second ago!!"

"Dammit!! It's an ambush!! Hang on!!"

_I KNEW it was too easy!,_ I yelled in my head as I cranked up the speed to 200 kilometers an hour, which didn't add much distance between us and the group of Boomers, as they only picked up their flying speed as well. I had to do a hard right as another mouth cannon blast hit the guardrail, sending bits of metal and concrete flying in front of me, only to bounce off the hood of the motorcycle harmlessly.

"I need some cover fire here!!" I yelled over the comm. "I've got over a dozen Boomers on my ass!!"

"Hold on!!" Linna yelled back. "We've just about got these guys taken care of!"

"Hurry the hell up!!"

She yelped and sputtered, "Wait about two or three minutes!" before disconnecting.

"I don't think I've GOT two or three!!" I growled, hanging another hard left when one of the Boomers fired in front of me, creating a smoking pothole that I very narrowly avoided driving right into. "Emi! Now would be a REALLY good time to shut them down!!"

"I can't!" she hollered. "I have to look at them! That's the only reason the earlier ones did!"

"Damn, so the scanner's useless. Bloody hell. Well, turn and LOOK!"

I barely made out the sound of her whining above the noise of the Boomers' mouth cannon fire, now flanking both sides of me. Weaving around them would be impossible at this point; I just had to drive straight through and pray that I wouldn't soon have exploding pavement on three sides of me anytime soon. But of course, Emi had to stay intact, so I had to factor that in as a reason they were deliberately missing, although 'missing' was too generous of a word. In reality I was barely avoiding each attack, my motorcycle starting to get covered in dings from the flying concrete and debris. And all it would take was one sharp piece to pierce one of the tires for both of us to go down and get lost in a hail of cannon blasts.

"Any time now!"

"I have an idea!" she said, gripping me tight while I yelped when I had to do another hard right to avoid several explosions to my left, one large chunk of concrete bouncing off my head but fortunately not doing any damage besides leaving a dent in my helmet. My scanner still showed the seventeen Boomers behind us, but suddenly four of them faltered somewhat. They didn't shut down, however. Instead, they started firing on the other Boomers, two of them going down immediately. Several of the others began returning fire, sending one of our quasi-allies crashing to the highway.

"Thank God you thought of that!" I said, heaving a sigh. "I gotta find us some cover!"

The next exit we came upon, I took, driving down into a run-down neighborhood a short distance from the airfield. Whatever people were in the streets immediately screamed and took cover as Emi and I sped through, the remaining Boomers still hot on my tail.

"Too bad only four were OMS-controlled. They really had this planned," I grumbled. Of the seventeen Boomers chasing us, ten were now dead, including three of the four Emi had taken control of. Five were still on our tail, but wait…that still left two unaccounted for. I ran my scanner again; the five were all 55Cs, which meant the two unknown ones had headed elsewhere. Maybe the Sabers were catching up and they'd gone to distract them? No; another run of my scanner said they were still far enough away to not be a real threat yet. If I stopped right now, they'd be here in two minutes, but I couldn't afford to stop. Sure, I could take on five 55Cs, not easily, but I could do it if I needed to. But that would've left Emi wide open, and I couldn't do that. Even if there were only two I was fighting, one could still fight me while the other would make a move for her. I had to shake them somehow!

I bit my lip and did something I shouldn't have attempted at this speed, lest the tires get shredded, but I decelerated, hard, coming almost to a complete stop, tires squealing loudly but thankfully staying intact. The five Boomers, not expecting the move, all zoomed right past us but came to a stop not long after. The one that Emi still had in control took the opportunity to slam its fist into one of the others' chests, making orange fluids gush out as the other Boomer returned the favor, grabbing the other's skull in both hands and proceeding to crush it. While they were caught in their tangle, I turned my attention to the remaining three. Before they could make any moves, I opened up my pulse-strikers, sending them into convulsions. I took aim with my MDD and, closing them up at the same time, fired, sending two discs through the closest Boomer, making it drop dead as it took one to the head and one to the chest, slumping in a pool of its own orange blood. Revving up the accelerator again, I spun the motorcycle and took off in the opposite direction, the last two Boomers hot on my heels and REALLY pissed off.

"Crap crap crap!!" I screamed as they turned their full firing power on me, firing away as fast as they could with their mouth cannons, blasts flanking me like they'd done on the highway, one chunk of concrete actually hitting me square on, cracking my visor. I shook it off and braked hard, turning my bike so that it squealed and slid down the street sideways. I sped up again and headed down a narrow alleyway, hoping it might've been just narrow enough so that the Boomers couldn't follow me, but no such luck. They were just barely able to squeeze through.

I looked up and noticed some scaffolding, smirking to myself as I got another sense of déjà vu. It felt like I'd just pulled a trick similar to this, but here I was, about to try it again, albeit from below. I aimed straight up and fired three discs, sending them cutting into the scaffolding. It buckled, then came tumbling down just as Emi and I got to the end of the alleyway. Instead of the sound of mouth cannon blasts, the only sound behind us was that of the scaffolding collapsing, right on top of the two Boomers.

I gave a shake of my head. Had my helmet not been on, I would've wiped the sweat from my brow. "Whew!" I breathed. "You ok back there?"

"Yeah," Emi squeaked. "Where'd you learn to drive like that?"

"Driving school," I quipped.

"How far are we from the airfield?"

"Another six kilometers. We should be able to cover the rest of the distance in a few minutes."

"What about those two Boomers?"

"After my pulse-striker scrambling and the scaffolding coming down on them, I don't think they'll be a problem anymore."

"No, I mean the other two. The two weird ones that just vanished."

"They'll probably show up soon enough. And if they do, hopefully the other Sabers will be here to keep our asses covered."

"Sorry, but you're going to have to cover your own ass," a voice bellowed from above, followed by three distinct 'ping-ping-ping' noises that struck the ground in front of us. I brought the bike to a halt to take a look at what had been fired. In the street in front of me, three railgun needles stuck out from the asphalt. It had definitely sounded like a railgun, but those needles weren't from Mom's railgun; the needles were too long. And the voice certainly wasn't Mom's either. Me and Emi turned to look behind and above us, and on top of one of the shorter buildings was one of the unknown Boomers, arms crossed as it stood in an amused pose. It was grey in color, almost with a silver sheen, and aside from a cannon mounted on its right arm, I couldn't detect any other obvious weapons.

I aimed with my left arm and fired three discs at it, two hitting through the torso while the third glanced off its shoulder. It stumbled back for a moment, then regained its footing and activated its jets, coming down off the building right for us.

"Let's GO!!" I yelled, bike peeling out as I took off, mind racing. I'd never seen a Boomer with a railgun like that before, and admittedly, it had brought back memories of our Tower raid in the States last year. Madigan had had a railgun-style pistol, something I hadn't seen before or since. And now this Boomer, and probably the other one, had one too. Just great. I just prayed that they wouldn't start copying my discs anytime soon as well.

Dodging explosions along the highway had been hard enough; there were at least a half-dozen instances where I should've crashed or gotten burned to a crisp. But dodging railgun needles wasn't something I though I'd ever have to do, and it was proving to be much harder. Not only were they smaller, but they could still be just as lethal if they hit the right mark. I was able to dodge the first spray of them easily enough; five needles all hit to my left, and all I had to do was adjust my course slightly. However, the next grouping, four needles, all hit the street in front of me, lined up in a nice row. I had to make a slightly hard left to get out of the way of those.

_The bastard's testing me!,_ I thought as the Boomer began spraying them all along the street in front of me and along both sides; I managed to avoid them, barely. They were spaced apart just enough that I was able to drive between them. It was trying to see if I'd panic and inadvertently drive into one of them! I wasn't about to fall for that. As I'd told Emi, I'd learned to drive from the best. But why test me out? I knew all it would have to do to end this thing and get Emi was to fire one right through my skull. But if my gut feeling about the bastard was right, it was that that move would have been far too easy. It probably would've wanted to drag this out, make it fun.

Emi yelped and gripped me tight. "One hit right behind me!!"

"It's playing with us!!" I said. "Don't worry, I'll play the son of a bitch's game." I opened up the comm. "Sylia, where the hell is everybody?!"

"We're on our way!" she assured me. "But we've just come across one of your pursuers."

_The other grey one,_ I thought. "Careful, it's got a railgun like Mom's."

"We know. How are you faring?"

"This guy won't get off my ass!! How long are ya gonna be?"

"A few minutes."

I disconnected. That was what Linna had told me a few minutes ago, just a few more minutes. Damn it! I growled and turned, letting my right hand doing the steering while I took aim with my left arm. I fired two more discs at the Boomer, one glancing off of its hip, and the other taking out a small cannon it was about to fire from its left arm. I was about ready to cheer, but then the Boomer fired with its regular laser cannon, hitting something in front of us. I turned to look, and saw that the wires keeping the traffic lights suspended at the next intersection had been severed. They were gonna come down right on top of us. I swerved to the right to avoid the sparking wire, which I managed to do, barely, but then came another 'ping' noise, and then I felt something hit my arm.

I screamed as the sound of puncturing metal and flesh hit my ears, pain flooding the entire limb as I suddenly couldn't keep a good grip on the handle with my right hand anymore; the muscles refused to contract. "Shit!!" I spat, only to feel the motorcycle hit something and start shaking violently; I'd run over some of the needles the Boomer had shot into the street. It must've done that right after shooting me.

"Oh no!!" Emi cried, grabbing me tight.

"I'm gonna need…to drop the bike," I said through gritted teeth; this pain was unlike anything I'd felt before. It was surreal. "Hang on as tight as you can."

Having one flat tire on a motorcycle would have been bad enough; having both of them flat meant we were both in very big trouble. Luckily I was in my suit and Emi was a Boomer, or we'd both get killed trying to drop a bike with two flat tires. Still, I had a feeling this was going to really hurt, and I found out a lot sooner than I wanted to. Emi had just gotten a good grip on me when suddenly, the bike lurched, tossing us both off of it. We both screamed, and upon hitting the pavement, hard, Emi was torn away from me, and I continued to bounce down the street for what seemed like forever, hollering the whole way. I could find no way to stop myself from rolling and bouncing off the pavement; I could only wonder if this was what a tin can felt like when it was kicked.

Finally, a building stopped me, and I slammed into it full force, the wind forcefully expelled from my lungs as my back came into contact with the brick wall. I slumped to the ground, struggling for breath, trying to get my bearings. Where was Emi? Where was that lousy Boomer? All I was definitely aware of was how much my body hurt, and how much more badly this railgun needle was making my arm hurt. I managed to get up on my knees, grabbing my arm when it started throbbing again. I winced and tried to grab it, the front part of it sticking out the front of my arm. I had to pull it out.

"I'm impressed," the Boomer said as it walked up to me. I instantly brought up Auto Motoslave Mode on my HUD; hopefully Monsoon hadn't been damaged too badly to be able to revert. I knew I wasn't gonna be able to take this thing on, not in my current state.

"By what?" I wheezed, getting to my feet, my left shin throbbing as I did so, making that leg threaten to give out from under me. "That I can still stand after taking your cheap shots? No one ever said Boomers played fair."

"Maybe not." It slammed its fist into the brick wall, just inches to the left of my skull, making a hole in the wall. "I could turn you into a metal pincushion right now if I so wanted," it reminded me, pieces of brick falling at my feet. "And all that little 33D down there would be able to do is watch."

I snapped my head to the right. Several buildings down was Emi, just now getting to her feet, her hoodie jacket now mostly in shreds from rolling and bouncing down the street. "Don't touch her," I growled, turning my focus back to the Boomer. "Your battle is with me, not her."

"It's just a machine. Why should you give a damn whether I take it with me or not?"

"Because she's not just a machine to me." I popped out the lasersword on my left arm. "And I promised…that I…would protect her. Sorry. You're gonna have to make me into that pincushion if you want to take her with you."

"How very noble of you." It took aim with the cannon mounted on its right arm, the barrel starting to glow as it charged up. "But I'd prefer to see you melted against the wall."

I was about to charge with my lasersword, but before I could even begin to make the leap, a blast out of nowhere blew the cannon right off the Boomer's arm. It turned to see where the blast had come from, only to be met with the form of Monsoon slamming into its body, sending them both tumbling to the ground. I wasn't about to stick around to watch the action; I limped into the nearest alley, giving weak tugs on the needle, trying to get it dislodged from my arm, but it seemed like it was stuck. I couldn't get it to give at all.

I heard the sound of running outside the alley, and a moment later, Emi appeared, her forehead and left cheek covered in road rash, and a piece of flesh hanging off her right cheek. She pressed it back into place, and a few seconds later I could see something under the flesh moving. She was refusing with it, her own skin.

"Oh no," she moaned, coming up to me. "Look at you."

"Yeah, I know I look like a human piñata," I groaned. "Don't worry. It looks worse than it feels…though I admit, I feel like hell." Not to mention I was sure I would need to sit in a tub of ice in the morning. My whole body felt like one gigantic bruise.

"Can you get the needle out?"

"I think it's lodged in the bone." I gave another pull, and yelled out when a new shockwave of pain shot through my arm and up into my shoulder. I fell against the wall, panting, sweat trickling down my face. "Can you…give me a hand?"

She nodded and grabbed hold of the needle. Pressing one foot against the wall, she started tugging, me immediately letting out a shout of pain. She gave me a worried look, then tugged again, eliciting another yell from me. It felt like she was going to rip my arm off! She bit her lip and gave me a nod, letting me know this one would probably be it. I just returned the nod and tried to relax, but ultimately, feeling the needle rip through my flesh again as Emi pulled it free from my arm was anything but.

"AAAHHH!!" I saw stars as my head slammed back into the wall in shock, letting out a moan as I slid down onto my ass, grabbing the wound. "God dammit!! Ow!!"

"Can you move that arm?" she asked, bending down.

I flexed my elbow, making my upper arm protest the movement heavily, as blood began seeping from both holes left in the suit. "Y-yeah," I said, wincing. I actually was feeling a bit lightheaded. This pain was definitely unreal, unlike anything I'd felt in three years of fighting Boomers. "Barely. What about you?"

"I'm ok," she said. "Why? Why are you doing this?"

Why was she asking questions at a time like this? "This? You mean protecting you? Because I said I would."

"You're not going to be able to keep this up. Even if that Boomer just outside this alley gets defeated, there will only be more waves of them. A third wave will come, then a fourth, whatever it takes to get me. You and your friends will eventually get worn down, and already you can't really fight anymore."

"I've gotten through worse. Don't talk like we're already beaten! I'll get you to Takaya Airfield, ok?! So don't talk like that!!"

"We're still five kilometers or so away. We're not going to make it."

"I'll fly you there on my back if I have to. My wings still work."

"We need to be realistic here. Sylia told you that if you can't complete the transfer, that you need to shoot me. At this rate…"

I growled and flipped up my visor. "Look at me, Emi!! Look at me! I told you, I won't let it come to that! It won't!! I meant it from the bottom of my heart! We've gone through too much together for me to just give up on you!"

"You won't be giving up…" She looked down at the spheres attached to my hips. "What are those?" she asked, which sent a chill down my spine.

"B-bombs," I said. "Bert…gave them to me. Why? You're not thinking of asking me to use one on you, are you?"

"If it comes down to it…shooting me isn't going to be enough. You're going to want to leave no trace of the OMS for Genom to find."

I was horrified at what she was suggesting. Blow her up?! She was insane! She knew I'd never do that! I grabbed her by the shoulders, ignoring the pain that once again flared up in my arm as a result. "We'll find a way, ok?!" I snapped, feeling the tears building up in my eyes. There was no way I was going to let her die, not if there was another way to complete this mission. There HAD to be another way! "The others will be here in just a little bit! They'll…they'll help us! You have to believe in them!"

"More Boomers will just come."

"And we'll handle them! But please…don't give up! I'm not giving up yet, not now! We're too close!" I staggered to my feet, renewing the sharp pain in my shin as I put weight on it again. It didn't feel like it was broken, but it still hurt like hell. "Let's just get as far away from Monsoon and that Boomer as we can. Let them duke it out…while we make our way to the airfield."

Emi shook her head and pushed herself to her feet, flashing me a smile. "I always figured you to be the fatalistic type," she remarked.

"I usually am. Since when did we switch roles?"

"When I became the target instead of you." We both jumped when explosions hit in the street just outside the alley, Monsoon charging through the flames. It went by almost too quick for me to catch it, but I thought I could see it was missing an arm. And still, it was going at it. "Your friend Monsoon isn't going to last much longer, it looks like."

I grunted and detached the bomb that was attached to my left hip. "Looks like I'll lose this Monsoon to an explosion too. Déjà vu all over again."

"What're you doing?"

"Borrowing your idea."

I shuffled over to the end of the alleyway and pushed my visor back down, clenching the bomb in my hand, watching as Monsoon and the Boomer did their dance in the middle of the flaming street, the Boomer pinning Monsoon down with gunfire, while Monsoon responded with several large blasts from its arm cannon, putting holes in the Boomer's chest. The Boomer, however, just seemed to shake them off, and I could see them start to close up.

_Damn, it can heal itself. I'll just have to make this count then,_ I thought, sliding back slightly. _Bert said it would turn the inside of the D.D. into slag inside of a minute. If I take him at his word, this one should be enough to blow the sucker apart. I don't know for sure, but I'll just have to find out!_

I swallowed hard and tracked the duo's movements as they took their battle up and down the street, each of them practically taking turns going on the offensive. One moment it was my one-armed Monsoon on the move, and then it would get pinned back with fire and the Boomer would be the one on the attack. They never stood still for more than a few seconds. I cursed; that would make it hard to throw the bomb at a particular spot, since I wouldn't know if they'd be there when it would go off. I just had to hope that someone would take a nasty injury and the other would stay to finish it off. As much as I didn't want that injured party to be Monsoon, somehow I just had the feeling it would be.

"Dammit, keep the bastard still," I growled.

The Boomer and Monsoon both stood back, then made a simultaneous charge against each other, locking each other's arms together. Monsoon may have only had one arm left, but it was just like me in the regard that it would just not give up. It puts its remaining arm to good use and gave a pull, using its thrusters – damaged from when I'd run over the needles in the street earlier – to provide some aid. The Boomer thrust a fist into Monsoon's torso, crunching metal reaching my ears as fluids began gushing out of the newly-formed hole. That hardly deterred Monsoon; the move only seemed to give it more resolve, as it gave one more tug, and with a howl, the Boomer suddenly stumbled back, missing its left arm, orange fluids gushing from the stump.

"Damn you," it growled, opening up its shoulders to reveal to me what looked like laser cannons. The Boomer fired them both, sending two green-colored lasers plowing right through Monsoon's torso, sending it stumbling back, unable to defend itself. The holes exploded, and Monsoon fell onto its back onto the street, now missing its other arm, utterly crippled.

I cursed to myself again; Monsoon was my Motoslave, after all. How dare this son-of-a-bitch Boomer try to take it apart! Unfortunately, I was going to have to sacrifice it, as this was my chance. I saw the Boomer walk up to it, standing over it as it prepared to deliver the final blow to Monsoon. With my thumb, I pressed in the middle of the sphere until I heard a click, then acted like it was a bowling ball and threw it underhand, letting it roll into the street in the direction of the Boomer, seething and grabbing my arm after I did so; even that small movement made me see red with the pain.

"Hope you don't mind doing this for me again," I quipped, managing a small chuckle. I turned to Emi. "C'mon!"

Emi at my side, I hobbled in the other direction out of the alleyway, not bothering to keep count of how long it had been or how long we might have before the bomb would go off; 'inside of a minute' was quite a bit of a range of time, now that I thought about it, and as much as I wanted to see the fireworks, I didn't think it necessary to have front-row seats, as it were. But still, given that I'd had these bombs for almost a year, part of me cryptically hoped that they didn't have an expiration date.

We managed to get out of the alley in short order, but just to be on the safe side, I had us both cross the street we came upon as well; I had no idea how big this blast was going to be, but if I knew Bert, who was a show-off if there ever was one, this would be a big one for sure. Once we were across the street, we both ducked down behind a parked car, and no sooner had Emi gotten down on her knees than I was proven right.

The boom was so loud that one would've thought the bomb was on this street instead of the next one over, and the ground shook ever so slightly, making the windows of the car we were behind rattle. I stood up quickly, gasping at the sight of a thick pillar of smoke, tinged red by the setting sun, rising from behind the buildings we'd just fled from and high into the sky. Tiny pieces of debris began falling on us like rain, but after a few seconds it lessened.

Emi dusted herself off as she got to her feet and took a look. "Wow," she remarked. "Look at that."

"Yeah." I rubbed my arm. "Aw, man, Sylia's gonna kill me for losing Monsoon again." I let out a small laugh. It was true this was the second Monsoon I'd gone through, but based on the stories I'd heard about Mom back in the Sabers' glory days, she went through a lot more Motoslaves than I did. Me having lost only two practically made me look like the responsible one!

"You know what? I don't think she'll mind."

"Don't tell me you were gonna finish that with 'as long as you're ok.'"

"Actually, I was. How did you know?"

I rolled my eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. "I just did."

She smiled. "I guess we can go ahead and get to the airfield now. They're probably still waiting."

"After all the hell we went through to get this far, they better be! I don't know about you, but I don't like getting beat up for nothing!"

I opened up my wings, and after running a few quick tests to make sure they were still in working order, I beckoned Emi to climb onto my back so we could get going. Even in a hardsuit, five kilometers was still a ways away, and I couldn't very well use my jumpjets without frying Emi to a crisp. Flying, the old-fashioned way, seemed to be the quickest and best bet.

"Are you ok to fly?" she asked as she was about to climb on, nodding at the condition of my suit apart from my wings. It was covered in dings, dents, little scorch marks from the explosions we'd dodged…but still, nothing that compromised the workings of my suit. Cosmetic damage, as far as I was concerned, though it still hurt to go bouncing down the street at over a hundred kilometers an hour. That was something I never wanted to feel again.

"Don't you worry about me," I assured her. "I can handle…"

I trailed off as another warning signal bleeped in my helmet. Another Boomer? No way, I had just… I looked up just in time to see a laser blast coming our way, and jumped on top of Emi as we both leaped to the sidewalk to avoid it. It hit the pavement and exploded just feet from us.

"It was a nice try!" a voice laughed. "Very clever. But the only thing you took out was your friend."

I growled and got to my feet, the source of the voice just above me. I looked up, and on a nearby roof was the grey Boomer, scorch marks on its chest and still with only one arm, but otherwise looking no worse for wear.

It leapt down from the roof onto the sidewalk. "You didn't think I noticed you hiding the whole time?" it chided, striding in my direction. I took a step back, only to flinch as the leg threatened to buckle again. "Just waiting to make a move? Oh, it was clever, I grant you that. I almost didn't see the little thing in time. But unfortunately for you, you'll have to get a little luckier than that to take me out, little girl. A lot…LOT luckier."

"And it's just YOUR luck that you're not taking on any ordinary little girl!" I declared, getting into a fighting stance. "Everyone knows not to mess with the purple Saber!"

"Heh. I must have missed that memo."

"Don't worry. I'll be sure to forward it to you right now."

"So do it, child."

Though Monsoon taking off the Boomer's left arm left it with no railgun, no needles didn't necessarily equal no problem, but it was about as big an advantage as I was going to get. The Boomer opened up its chest to reveal a heat cannon, and right as it fired, I rolled to the right, getting up on one knee to fire two discs, one cutting just below its remaining arm, and the other plowing into its stomach, orange fluids gushing out the back as the disc came out the other side. The Boomer closed up the heat cannon and charged at it, lunging with its remaining arm. I jumped back and popped out both laserswords, readying them before charging myself. I plunged one into the right side of its chest and pulled it out, more fluids gushing from that wound as I brought down the other one onto its head, splitting its skull.

"Not so fast," it warned, grabbing that arm with its one arm, squeezing tight. I grunted and tried to pull away, withdrawing the sword, but its grip was too strong. I got the one on my left arm ready, so I could cut off its hand and get free, but before I could do anything it growled and tossed me aside, sending me skidding across the street, the sidewalk halting my skid as I slid into it.

"Emi, RUN!!" I screamed as I rolled to the side just in time to avoid the Boomer's fist coming down. I heard it slam into the asphalt right where I had just been, the crunching noise almost deafening to my ears. I turned my head to my right again and saw it lunging at me, enraged. I drew a fist back and right when it was in my face, I slammed it into the Boomer's own face, setting off my Knuckle Bomber. I drew the arm back quickly, as another flash of pain in my upper arm made itself known, and got to my feet, watching as the wound on its skull I'd inflicted with my sword gradually closed up.

_Damn it! How am I gonna use that other bomb?!,_ I wondered as the Boomer got up and attacked again, its face already on the mend. I backpedaled several steps, to trick it into thinking I was going to run away, and for a brief moment I thought it was going to work, but it kept on the charge, and I went on the attack again as well. Again, waiting until it was just close enough, I did an aerial flip, slamming one of my Leg Bombers into its chin. Upon landing on the ground again, I twisted my body and did a spin on the ground, slamming it again into one of its ankles, making it lose its balance, if only for a second.

Another backward flip and I was on my feet again, both swords again at the ready. I charged again, but the Boomer, looking like it was taken off guard by my last attack, suddenly recovered, and swatted me down hard, making me let out a yell as I slammed into the ground. It reached down and picked me up by my neck, making sure to squeeze just hard enough, I noticed, to make me need to gasp for air.

"Cocky little bitch, are we?" it inquired, though it wasn't really in the form of a question. "You'll need more than fancy moves to outwit me."

"Well, you know what they say…" I said, "the bigger they are…"

Both my swords were still out, so I went to cut off the bastard's arm again, if only to get some breathing room, literally, but the Boomer saw that coming a mile away; it was an obvious move, and one I should've known better than to make right off the bat. The moment my sword came up, it tightened its grip around my neck, then spun and threw me, right across the street, into the front of a shoe store, my back slamming hard into the brick wall, knocking the wind out of me. I struggled to get to my feet, but the farthest up I got was to my hands and knees before the Boomer came charging again, letting out a holler as it rammed its knee into my side and subsequently punched me right through the wall, throwing me back into several rows of shelving, bricks, miscellaneous footwear, and other debris scattered around me.

I let out several coughs and grabbed my side, rolling from my back onto my other side, groaning as pain throbbed throughout my body. Coughing again, I pushed myself up to my knees. I took a look at my arm; it was still bleeding, the blood now running down the length of my arm and onto my Knuckle Bomber. I made a fist with the hand on that arm and looked up, seeing the Boomer just standing there, looking at me. I made a low growl; now I was REALLY in a bad mood.

"Son of a…bitch…" I groaned, struggling to get to my feet, but my legs refused to do much of anything. They were like jelly underneath me.

The Boomer still just stood there, but rather than make some smartass remark in reply, like I'd expected it to, it opened up its mouth to fire its mouth cannon. The blast connected at the entrance to the store, and then, a split-second later, it exploded, sending me screaming as I was thrown to the back of the store, the shelving and everything else joining me along the back wall, half-burying me.

"That takes care of you," it said. "Now for the other one…"

"No…" I groaned, pushing myself up on my arms, both those and my shoulders heavily protesting the movement. My arms trembled, threatening to give out. I blinked, shaking off the double vision that started to tread in on my sight. No, I wasn't going to go down like this. I had to defeat this thing! "Bastard…stay away…"

My right arm, still bleeding, started to give, but I forced it to stay up. Having put up with two days of pain, I couldn't let something like this stop me. I had to help out Emi. She certainly couldn't face that Boomer by herself. She was lethal in her own right, but by no means was she a Combat Boomer. She stood about as good a chance as any regular person did. I tried to turn myself onto my back, but my legs were pinned down by the shelves that had been blown back and collapsed on top of me. So much for pushing them off. I reached for a nearby one, grabbing ahold of it, first with my right hand, then my left once I got something of a good grip on it.

"Come on, come on…" I gave a tug, and I could feel the weight shift on my legs, but they were still definitely pinned. Gritting my teeth, I tried again, and this time the shelf I was grabbing onto shifted, making a squeaking noise against the tile floor as I ended up pulling it more towards me. I reached for the far edge of the shelf, grabbing with both hands, the top half of my torso now more or less on the shelf, and gave it one more shot, grunting with the effort. Even with the power the suit provided, getting myself free from some lousy shelving was definitely no easy task.

I stopped and panted, flexing my right hand. I could barely move that arm now, and the pain was starting to make me feel lightheaded again. Who would've thought a needle could hurt so damn much?! Of course, getting a shot was different from having it shot through your arm and bone, but…I still had no idea it'd be this bad.

_C'mon, just a little more, just one more…_ I grabbed hold of the shelf again and pulled, grunting as I put my full strength into my arms and shoulders, making them strain with the effort. But finally, I could feel my legs budge somewhat, and with one last holler, I flipped over the shelf and landed on my back, now dislodged. I winced and bent my legs several times, then rolled over and stumbled to my feet, knees shaking; if they weren't sore before, they were definitely beaten and bruised now. Each small step I took towards the front of the door, I winced, holding my arm as it began throbbing anew. My body just didn't want to do anything anymore.

_Not much longer…a few more minutes, I kill that Boomer, get Emi to the UN, and then…then I strangle the UN people._

I crawled over the last pile of debris, then stumbled out of what was left of the door to the shoe store, falling to my hands and knees as my body gave out. I pushed myself back to my feet, swaying, head swimming as double vision threatened to impede on me again. Had to think about Emi; had to keep fighting, no matter what. I looked around, but the streets were empty, at least as far as Boomers went. I knew it couldn't have gone far, unless it already had Emi. I swallowed hard at the thought. If it did have her, the son of a bitch wasn't going to get much farther with her. Pain be damned, I'd tear the thing apart if I had to.

My HUD beeped, and I turned to the left, just in time to see my copper-haired friend running out from a nearby alley, sans her jacket, screaming. The Boomer emerged a second later, tearing said jacket off of its head as it marched towards her. I popped out one of my laserswords and went towards it.

"I'll kill you!" I yelled. "Get your ass over here and fight ME!"

The Boomer turned to me and growled. "Little pest," it said, and it swinging its one arm at me was the last thing I saw, besides stars, before I was swatted to the ground like a fly being hit with a swatter. Dazed for a moment, I sat myself up, holding my head, groaning. This was definitely getting annoying. I had to make sure the damn thing knew its place, that place being impaled on my sword. But just as I started to get to my feet, the Boomer reached out and grabbed Emi by her right arm.

"STOP!!" I yelled, falling to my hands and knees again when I tried to get up.

"Let go!!" Emi yelled, yelping as the Boomer pulled her close, pinning her torso and right arm against its own torso with its arm. Kicking her legs wildly, she pounded on its arm with her free arm, which didn't do much of anything as it only held her tighter.

I staggered to my feet again. This was enough. "Son of a bitch!" I screamed, firing two discs at it, severing its arm just below the shoulder. But strangely enough, the arm didn't fall to the ground or release Emi like I'd expected. It stayed in position. I frowned and ran my scanner; why the hell wasn't it acting like it was supposed to? A moment later, I got my answer; the Boomer's mass was shifting somewhat, not so much that it made a visible difference, but…what did it mean?

I took another look, and gasped in horror; I saw numerous small tendrils snaking out of the Boomer's torso, leeching on to its own arm and onto Emi's body hungrily. Emi screamed as they latched onto her right arm, then onto her head and shoulders, kicking even more wildly than she had been before.

"It's fusing!" I gasped.

"Stay back!" Emi yelled.

"Don't let it fuse!! Block it! Do something!"

She shook her head. "I can't!" she cried. "It's too much. I can't stop it."

I let out a yell and fired another disc, this time at the Boomer's knee. It cut into the joint, making it spew out orange fluids as it dropped to one knee, but the action made Emi yell out in pain. It had already fused with her well enough to make her feel its pain. Which also meant…

"Oh shit," I breathed. "The OMS. Emi…"

She nodded helplessly. "I know. If it continues to fuse with me, it'll…be able to access the OMS. I can block access right now, but I can't hold it for long." She looked at me with new determination. "It can't attack while it's fusing with me. Why do you think it's not moving?"

I grunted and grabbed my arm. "I'll get you free…I will…" I took several steps towards her, but by now my legs felt like two sticks of butter. Just standing up, they were barely holding me up. With me walking, they were just begging for mercy.

"RavenKnight?"

"Huh?" I blinked; what did she just call me? She hadn't just…

"What is your mission?" she asked.

"My mission?"

"Yes. What is it?"

I blinked back tears. It couldn't come to this. It couldn't. "To recover the OMS and take it to the UN…or destroy it if there is no other option. By any means necessary." I stopped in my tracks and shook my head. "Emi…"

"If this Boomer manages to completely fuse with me, it will have access to the OMS, and you and your friends will be finished. It'll be all over." Tears began running down her cheeks. "I don't want that to happen. Please…"

"But WHY?!" I didn't understand; why was the damn Boomer fusing with her?! I'd thought it was supposed to take her back to Genom, not try to get access to the OMS itself! Was it a mistake in its programming, giving it too much free will so that it itself would want the ultimate power? Or did Quincy really just not give a damn anymore? I didn't get it!

"Please," she begged, but in a strong voice. "I'd rather you live for yourself and your friends…than die for a Boomer like me."

"But you're not just a Boomer! You're my friend!"

She grimaced and struggled some more, but it was useless; the tendrils were stretching further onto her shoulders and her pinned arm. "I really appreciate what you've done," she said, "but I want to help you complete your mission. Give me your other bomb. I don't want to leave anything left, for Genom or ASI or anyone else to find. I want it to end here. No more of this. I don't want to see any more needless, mindless suffering! I'm going to end it here!"

"I can't," I moaned. "I'm not going to martyr you…"

"An unintended martyr, perhaps I am. I just want my death to be worth something. I'm sure everyone does. I want to make it count for something." She reached out with her free hand. "Please…give me the other bomb."

I looked down at the remaining bomb, attached to my right hip, still intact through this whole ordeal. I detached it and held it up for her to see. "Once I press the middle…" I said, "I can't undo it. It'll detonate in less than a minute. Are you sure this is what you want?"

She grimaced and struggled some more, groaning. "Y…yes," she said, looking like she was in great pain. "It won't be much longer until it'll have control. Let me have it."

I dusted off the bomb, biting my lip as I did so, tasting the tears that had broken free and streaked my cheeks. I didn't want to believe she was asking me to do this. It had always been a possibility that I'd have to kill her if I couldn't turn her over, but I kept telling myself it wouldn't come to that. I'd sworn it wouldn't. And despite my best efforts…this is what was happening, what was going to happen. Through the time I had known her, even when she was briefly my enemy, she had never lied to me. If there was another way to get her out of this, I knew she would have told me.

I pressed in the middle. When it clicked, I hurled it towards Emi, and with her free arm, she reached out and caught it, hugging it close. I could see tendrils of her own start to form on her free arm, snaking onto the bomb. She was certain about this.

"I'm sorry," I choked. "I hope you forgive me for this."

"I have nothing to forgive you for. We only knew each other for a little while, but for that little while, I had my big sister."

I chuckled and nodded, new tears running down my cheeks. "Y-yeah…"

"I had fun being with you. I hope you feel likewise."

"I do…I do."

"Tell your friends I thank them for their friendship and camaraderie in this too. I know I won't be around to watch after you anymore, but you'll be okay. You're a strong person, RavenKnight. You're the strongest person I know. I feel privileged to have been your friend."

"I'm…proud to have been your friend as well."

She gave me a smile, the kind smile I had seen so many times before. "You'll be okay. I know you'll be just fine." She looked down at the bomb, then back up at me, still smiling somehow, despite the moment. "You better stand clear."

I nodded and took a step back, opening up my wings. I wished there was something else I could say, but she was right; the bomb was due to go off any second, and the time for any sort of casual conversation had passed.

"…Goodbye, Emi."

"Goodbye, Yumeko."

I took off into the air, taking one last look down at the sight below, the Boomer and Emi, tangled together in a fatal dance. I sped off, landing on the rooftop of a building a block down from where the battle had been, legs shaking, my whole body quaking. I hugged myself, feeling my tears soak into the padding around my jaw. I didn't want to believe it. I'd just handed my friend a death sentence. I turned around, thinking about going back, finding SOME sort of way to get that Boomer off of her, but it was too late.

At that moment, an explosion rocked the air, sending a large pillar of smoke into the sky, dominating the nearby landscape. I frantically ran my scanner, hoping that somehow, just maybe, that maybe she had unfused from it and tossed it away or something. But…

My scanner turned up nothing. No Boomers of any sort.

"Emi, no…" I staggered backwards, then forwards, dropping to my knees. "No. Emi, I'm sorry. Emi, please don't…no…" I pounded the ground, screaming. "NO! EMIII!! EMI!!"

I started bawling right then and there. She was gone, really gone. A Boomer, a friend, willing to give her life so that a girl she barely knew but had come to love could keep on living. Just like Michiko, she had given her life for me. Why? For this? This was nothing. This wasn't anything worth dying for. The OMS, screw that! I would've given my own life to keep hers going, and she knew it. Everyone knew it. There had to have been some other option, some other way to keep her alive! There had to have been! But now she…

"Yumeko," a gentle voice said, a hand falling on my shoulder. I spun around, fists ready, only to stop when I saw a green hardsuit bent down, looking down at me.

"L-Linna?"

"Is Emi…?"

I nodded and sniffled. "She's gone. I…blew her up. There was nothing…I could've done. The Boomer fused with her, and she said…it'd control the OMS if it completely fused, and…she told me to…to use one of the bombs…" I slammed my fist into the ground again. "Damn it!! Why?! I should've done something else, anything else!! SOMETHING!"

She hugged me. "I'm sorry, Yumeko. I'm so sorry."

"I know she never lied to me before! She said there was no other way! But there must've been! If you and Sylia and Mom and Nene…if you'd all been there to help me, we could've found a way! There HAD to have been another way!! Linna, TELL me there was another way!"

"I can't," she sighed.

I sniffled and just shook my head, taking a look at the sky again. The pillar of smoke was still there, curling around and around as it rose higher into the sky; and to the west, after a helicopter passed overhead, I noted that the sun had just disappeared behind the horizon, the clouds where the sun had just been being the same color as the hair of my friend.

I had known her for exactly eight days. Just eight days ago, she was a girl I had found in an alley while I was on my way to find dinner. Today, she had become a hero.


	8. Nineteen and life to go

The events that transpired after I blew Emi up were something of a blur. Shortly after Linna had shown up, Mom had appeared as well, and upon learning of Emi's fate, could only shake her head and sigh. The three of us made our way back to the KnightWing, which was badly damaged, but after Nene and Mackie made a few quick repairs, we were able to get back to Lady 633 without too much of a problem. Mackie lamented that it would probably take weeks to get the thing up to speed again, but all I could do was grumble to myself about how he was complaining about the plane when I had just lost a friend. Where the hell were HIS priorities?!

Sylia's UN contact got in touch with her while we were on our way back to Lady 633, and she let him know that the OMS was destroyed. She talked with him for a few minutes, confirming that the other half of our hundred-million-yen fee would be deposited within the next two days. I didn't care about the money. I would've rather had Emi alive again. Not that the money mattered anyway; I never saw a penny from our fees, whenever we did get paid, anyway. I always just told Sylia to keep it, since my suit or Monsoon was almost always needing some sort of repair work done to it.

We got back to Sylia's building, and while I'd managed to hold myself together until then, once we all climbed out of our suits, I finally broke down and started screaming at everyone, mostly yelling at Sylia. How could she be so cold about this?! It hadn't been just the OMS that was destroyed! A person had been destroyed along with it, and whether that person was human or Boomer, it didn't matter, because that person had been a friend to me, even if I'd only known her for just over a week. A week…a blip in time compared to what a lifetime was, but Emi had still left her mark on my life, and I wasn't going to forget it, or her. I wasn't going to let her forget it, either, but in the middle of my rant, I started feeling dizzy, and before I could stop myself, I collapsed on the floor of the hardsuit bay.

I opened my eyes, groggy and sore, the mere weight of the blanket on top of my body making me even more so. I looked around; I was in the guest room again, and to the right of me, the clock said, in bright green numbering, 12:32 AM. I groaned and pushed myself up into a sitting position, rubbing my arm, a bandage wrapped around the upper portion of it, where the needle had pierced. It was dark in the room, and my eyes were just starting to adjust to the darkness, but I didn't need to see my body to know that what was under the blanket was covered in bruises. I could feel them all over me, and while it didn't feel like I had a concussion, my head ached somewhat as well. I didn't feel any bandages around my ribs or my leg, so that told me I hadn't broken anything, a small miracle in itself.

I threw back the blanket, and about an inch or two below my leg sleeve was a very large bruise on my shin. I grimaced; it may have only been a deep bruise, but during battle, it had hurt a hell of a lot, and as I moved to get out of bed, I winced again as I put that leg down on the carpet. Standing up, I leaned against the bed for support, then once I had my bearings, I limped over to the dresser and pulled out some clothes. Right now, I was dressed in a loose-fitting sleeveless red shirt and some panties; Sylia had probably chosen them to ensure a minimum of discomfort, not that it mattered at this point. I pulled on some jeans, then some socks and my shoes, and after I pulled on my jacket I took some hairbands and tied my hair back into a loose ponytail, wrapping one around my hair every few inches down so that it was secure.

One hand against the wall, I limped down the hallway towards the elevator. My body was hating me for this right now; every inch of it was crying out for relief, as if yelling at me for even trying to get up after the beating it had taken. But right now, this was a place I just didn't want to be.

"Yumeko?"

I looked up, and at the doorway to the penthouse was Nene, bleary-eyed but with a look of shock on her face. "Nene. What're you doing up?"

"Sylia's just looking over the hardsuit data and I was helping her out with that. Where do you think you're going?"

"Home."

"I'm sure you've noticed, but you took a heck of a beating tonight. You should go back to your room and lay down."

"I haven't slept in my own bed since we all found out Emi had the OMS. What was that, four days ago? Thanks, but I'd rather be somewhere familiar."

"I don't think you should be alone right now. You just lost a friend, and you've…been through a lot besides that. You should be around people you can lean on," she said softly.

I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes, but I just shook my head and wiped them away. It was true; even if I did go home, I wouldn't have anyone there to greet me. Emi wouldn't be there to run up to me and ask how my day was. But still…it was a place I knew. It was home. This wasn't. "I know I've been through hell," I said in a low voice. "Two days of torture, and then a day of having everyone checking up on me every few minutes. It's annoying. I just want…need…some time to myself. I'm sure you can understand that."

She nodded and bit her lip. "Yumeko, I'm…sorry about Emi. I wish I could've done something to change the outcome."

"Me too…" I started to head towards the elevator again, but she stopped me, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"I understand why you…went off on Sylia like you did," she said, looking guilty. "Her focus mostly being on the fact the OMS was taken care of rather than the fact you lost someone you cared about…I…I cared about her too. Linna and Priss did too. But Sylia…you know her. She doesn't want to waste time getting emotionally invested in someone or something when it's supposed to be done with shortly anyway. But she knows it, Yumeko. She knows you're hurting for Emi, even if she doesn't say anything to you about it. Don't misunderstand her."

"Are we gonna stand here talking all night, or are you going to let go of my shoulder so I can go home?"

She made a face and took her hand off my shoulder. "I'm not sure you'll make it home in your condition."

"I'll be fine. I'll just go slow."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay at least the night?"

"Damn sure."

"…Can I at least give you a ride home if you insist on going?"

"I'll be ok, Aunt Nene," I said, forcing myself to smile. "I'll call you in the morning, ok? Just to let you know I made it ok."

She sighed. "You better," she said, wagging her finger at me, "or I'll come breaking down your door looking for you!"

"I know you will."

The elevator took me down to the ground floor, and I could hear the sound of my limping echo through the parking garage as I headed for my bike, looking over my shoulder every few seconds to make sure no one was hiding in the shadows. Strange, how in the first moments I'd been alone in the past three days, that I was suddenly neurotic. I wasn't usually nervous about people ambushing me.

I found my bike, parked in its usual spot. Judging from its appearance, it had been caught up in the explosion at the Red Baron; the windshield was cracked, and the hood had numerous small dings in it from flying debris. Still, I was thankful Sylia had brought it back to the building for me. I let out a sigh and put one hand on one of the handles while the other one reached for my helmet. Had that really been only three days ago? I'd been talking about my potential gymnastics future with Emi, joking about Berlin with Tora…and then everything had gone to hell. Three days ago, and yet so much had happened since then. It just didn't seem possible.

After I pulled on my helmet, it took me several attempts to climb onto my motorcycle. My leg just didn't want to lift itself high enough to get over the seat, and eventually I practically had to lift the leg with my arms to get it over. Once I was on, I started the bike, and once I had myself situated, I slowly drove out of the garage, the gate lifting as I turned onto the street. I had feared earlier that after what had happened, I'd never be able to travel the streets of Tokyo freely again, wondering if I'd always be afraid of someone coming after me, or something terrible happening. It was true that I'd had more than my fair share of bad luck, but still, I didn't like to think that trouble followed me wherever I went. I was just that type of girl, even before I'd become a Knight Saber. Even before I'd first suited up, I was known at school and in my neighborhood as someone not to mess with, but that didn't mean people didn't pick fights anyway. After I became a Saber, the fights were the same, just with the ante upped just a little bit.

What had happened over the past few days…I wasn't about to let that change the fact that I was still someone not to mess around with. It was just pain. I'd dealt with pain before, so getting through a little more of it would be a piece of cake, right?

No…it wasn't the same, not at all. I'd been raped…even if I didn't consider it real rape…I'd been tortured…and again, I was going through the pain of losing a friend, except this time, I'd been the one to kill her. Sure, I could turn to Mom for this – she'd had to kill Sylvie all those years ago, and still didn't like to bring it up – just as I could turn to her for the 'other' thing, but somehow I knew I had to brazen this out on my own. Even though I was old enough to know better, part of me just wanted to deal with it on my own.

Just wanted some time to get this crap straightened out on my own. Somehow.

I managed to get back to my apartment complex in one piece, and managed to haul my ass into the building and into the elevator, taking it to my floor. And yet, unlocking the door to my apartment, I was overcome with a sense of…what was it? Unease? Anxiety? My heart pounded as I opened the door and looked inside, the light from the hallway filling the living room, my shadow spilling across the living room table. All the lights were off, and it was eerily quiet. I felt like I had never been here before. It just seemed unfamiliar, for some reason. Had I really gotten used to having Emi here when I came home every day?

I turned on the lamp beside the door, closing the door behind me. Taking a step, I tossed my helmet into a nearby corner and looked around again. There was the couch against the wall on the right, with a side table with the vidphone on it next to it, and in front of the couch was the table. On the wall to the left, next to the entrance to the kitchen was the TV, with a stand below it with a DVD player and my selection of movies. I recognized it as my living room, but somehow it just didn't feel like it. It felt…lonely, having no one here with me to fill this space.

Ache gripped my heart as I dropped to my knees, tears streaking my face. I'd never felt so lonely before. Emi had known me, really known me. Hardly anybody knew the real me. Sure, I had Mom and my aunts, but they were adults. I was still a teenager, and like any teenager, I had my secrets. I had a side to me that I only showed friends. Michiko had known the real me. After a while, I had let Craig see the real me. And now Emi, she had seen the real me. I had no one to open up to now. Michiko and Emi were both dead, and there was no way for me to get ahold of Craig, even if I wanted to, which I did, really badly. As much as I wished Ishmael would show up with Craig, or take me to Craig's dimension, I knew that wasn't going to happen. He only showed up if there was good reason, and me missing the one guy I had really grown to trust wasn't good enough. Me being tortured apparently hadn't been good enough either!

I staggered to my feet and hobbled over to the phone, sitting down in the chair in front of the table. Slowly, I dialed Xania's number. There was still someone who knew me. I felt sure I could judge how she'd react, but it was a face I needed to see, a voice I needed to hear. She'd known pain, and the last I'd heard from her, she was going to confront the source of her pain once and for all.

"Oh boy, this better be good," she grumbled as her face appeared on the screen. She ran a hand through her tangled hair and yawned, then blinked quickly when she saw it was me. "Oh. OH!! Rosho!! Holy shit, what…what the hell happened to you?!"

"Nice to see you too," I said. "It's morning there. What are you doing still asleep?"

"C'mon, it's summer, I'm allowed to sleep in. But…but what happened? You look like hell. I left a couple messages on your vidmail but you never got back to me."

"I was a little tied up," I quipped. "Literally. It's been…a long week."

"So tell me about it! How's that girl you took in?"

I started to break down at the mention of Emi. "She's…gone. It's a long story."

She grimaced and let out a sigh. "Sorry, Rosho. What happened?"

After taking a moment to compose myself, I started from the beginning, how I'd found Emi in the alley, the job the Knight Sabers took, and my day of introducing Emi to everyone, including the accidental introduction to Masahiro. Xania laughed out loud when I described her tossing the SOB over her shoulder, but quickly sobered up when I told her that was what had led to me introducing her to Sylia and having her scan Emi, and how that was how we'd all found out she was a Boomer and had the OMS. I described the meeting at the Red Baron and how it had gone to shit, followed by a nutshell description of the torture I had to endure.

"Oh fuck," she breathed when I told her about the finger-rape. "Oh God. Rosho, those…those sons of bitches. They seriously…?"

"Yeah," I said, choking up. "I don't want to…dwell on it, ok? It was just one part of it. Remember the thing that happened at Juliana's pool party? Well…"

I went on to describe the water torture I'd been subjected to, and finally, the stun gun attack. Xania looked amused when I told her about Emi suddenly snapping and attacking Bruce and Nezumi, and she proceeded to let out a string of colorful words that made me wonder just a bit if Emi should have let them linger a little bit instead of killing them outright. I told her of our escape, finding Mackie, getting back to Lady 633, and of my day off, if I could call it that, before tonight's battle.

After I described the events that transpired, including me having to bomb Emi, Xania was just left shaking her head. "You just can't make this shit up," she remarked, still shaking her head in disbelief. She'd been doing that almost the entire time I'd been talking. "You've really had a hell of a week. Makes mine seem boring in comparison. Why aren't you gettin' some rest, girl? You've been beaten up for three days straight!"

"I just needed someone to talk to, someone who's not a Knight Saber. I've got…no one here now. I actually liked having Emi here. Someone to…hang out with, go shopping with, someone who was close to my age. You're in the States, so it's not like we can hang out anytime we want. Xania, I…" I choked up again. "I know she was a Boomer, but…she was a friend too. She really was like Michiko in a lot of ways. And now they're…both gone. What am I supposed to do? With Emi, her death really IS my fault. I wish I could have figured out another way to save her. I wish I…"

"I know," she sighed. "I guess that…you just do what you can in whatever circumstances you're dealin' with. In the heat of battle, you don't have time to second-guess what decisions you make, and with what you said about that Boomer fusin' with her and maybe bein' able to control the OMS…hell, I probably woulda sided with Emi. If I were her, I'd want ya to blow me up too! Fuck that!"

"You would?"

"Sure! I'd rather it be me dead than anybody I care about! If it was the only way to keep you from getting killed, hell yes I'll step up and offer my life! I guess that'd make her one hell of a bad assassin Boomer, but as far as being a friend goes, she performed the ultimate act. I don't think she'd want you to cry for her; she'd want you to appreciate what she did. What's the point of her dyin' for ya if all you're gonna do afterwards is bitch and moan? You gotta LIVE! She wanted you to be happy, right?"

"Y-yeah…"

"So be happy! Live it up! Be daring! Sleep with a random guy! Go skydiving! Go—"

"Er…"

She stopped and cleared her throat. "Well, ya know what I mean. Take risks."

"That particular advice might be more up YOUR alley than mine."

Xania just laughed and scratched the back of her head, flashing me the peace sign with her other hand. Still, it made me smile. She could be broody at times, to be sure, but when she was happy, it was infectious.

"So, you said you were gonna go visit your parents in prison?" I asked. "How did that go?"

She made a face and bit the inside of her cheek as her tail swished back and forth. "They didn't seem surprised to see me. They knew exactly who I was when I went to visit 'em. First thing they did was ask when I got the tail."

"Did you get to ask them why they got addicted?"

"Yeah. 'Course, I wasn't expecting a straight answer, and I didn't really get one. Mom kinda used the excuse that in a small town like Needles, there's not a whole lot to do, so of course you're gonna dabble in drugs. And Dad, he…he admitted he got Mom hooked on that shit, but he didn't say why he himself got addicted. I asked if they even gave a shit about me back then, and he just said he knew I'd be able to take care of myself, that I was precocious, old for my age. Mom admitted once she got hooked, all she cared about was her next hit, not about me. Damn everything else, if she couldn't get her next bit of that 'candy,' there was gonna be hell to pay!" She groaned. "They looked old, Rosho. They both look sixty years old; they're missing most of their teeth 'cause o' meth mouth."

"You knew what you were getting into, though. I'm sure you did."

"In my head I was ready, but…I guess I was still shocked when the guard pointed them out to me. They're both just…old. They're not the people I remember as my parents."

"Are they getting out soon?"

"Yeah, another two years," she said. "Doesn't matter though. I told 'em I never wanted to see 'em again. Told 'em I was only there to get the answers I was lookin' for, and that was it. I wasn't there to give them my forgiveness – and I don't forgive them, by the way, I never will – I was only there to tell 'em I'd grown up, that I wasn't gonna let what they'd done to me fuck me up for life."

"You should be proud," I said. "You stood up to them. I know you never liked having them brought up when I was over there, so I know this was a big step for you."

"And scary," she admitted. "But I'm glad I did it. I got that out of my system. Now I can move on and focus more on my schoolwork. God, I hate schoolwork, but this is what I said I wanted to do, so I'm doin' it. No one said this was gonna be easy."

"Right. At least Sylia will be proud you're not wasting the money she's spending for your education."

She stuck out her tongue. "I'm makin' good use of it. You can tell her that for me."

"I will." I bowed my head slightly, then looked back up at the screen. "So…did you find the answers you were looking for?"

Xania gave me a look, the look only a person who was wise far beyond her years could give me. "Do any of us?"

* * *

Our conversation wound down quickly, and after I hung up I decided to take a look at my vidmail files to see what calls I had missed. To my surprise, there were only a few, especially considering I didn't check it on a regular basis. There were two from Xania, both made during the days I had been in captivity, but there were also three others besides those, and two of them had been made from inside my apartment. Upon watching them, I was shocked; they were messages from Emi. The first one had been left two days after I found her in that alleyway, while I was at work. In her boredom being cooped up in my apartment, she must have started fiddling with the phone and figured out she could call the apartment itself from inside.

"Message left on: 15 July 2057, at 3:23 PM," the automated voice said before my copper-haired friend appeared on the screen. She tapped the screen, then leaned in close, blinking curiously.

"Is this thing on?" she asked out loud, staring for a few more seconds before leaning back. "I guess it is. The little red light above the screen is blinking. Well, I hope it works! Anyway, um…I really miss you, Yumeko! I hope you come back from work soon! I'm still really sorry about burning the egg last night, and I thought I'd try it again, so I took out the whole carton of eggs from the refrigerator, and I tried it again and again. It took me five tries, but on the fifth egg I finally got it right!"

I blinked back tears and let out a chuckle. No wonder the place had still smelled like egg when I'd gotten back from work that day. I'd thought it had just lingered from the night before. So that was why she had laughed when I made a comment about the kitchen still smelling. I hadn't cooked any eggs after that, so I hadn't even noticed I was missing some.

I went ahead and went to the next message, which was left two days later, in the early morning hours of the day I had taken her around Tokyo to introduce her to everyone. "Message left on: 17 July 2057, at 7:56 AM."

Emi appeared on the screen, yawning. "You got home really late last night," she said, scratching the back of her head, blinking tiredly. "I was just watching the news, and my stomach still hurt, and then it stopped and I guess I was just tired, 'cause I went to sleep right away after that. I wish you'd woken me up, though! I got worried! Oh, and some guy came by while you were out, but I didn't open the door. I just talked to him through the door and said you weren't around. He said he'd come by later. He seemed like he knew you, so maybe you know him too. But I thought you said all guys are jerks!"

I smirked; it could have only been Masahiro. She had never told me about him stopping by; she'd only said, later that day as I introduced her to Mom, incidentally, that Mom had called while I was at work. Still, this might have explained her immediate dislike for him upon meeting him for the first time. Or maybe she was just picking up cues from me. Either way, I'd never forget her flipping him over her shoulder and warning him to stay away. It was just so out of character for her! Even if that was what had led me to take her to Sylia's place and led us to find out who she really was, it was still a memorable incident.

The two messages from Xania were after that, one left on the 19th, the second one left on the 20th. The last message was from someone who had called from Sylia's place, on the 21st, which made me wonder. It had been late on the 20th that Emi and I had escaped, so we were both already at Lady 633 on the 21st. So who…?

Of course, the answer should have been obvious. I went to the last message.

"Message left on: 21 July 2057, at 6:01 PM."

Again, it was Emi who appeared on the screen. This time, though, she looked tired, worn out. She ran her hands through her hair and let out a sigh. At first, I could only shake my head. When had she had time to leave this? She'd been around me all day, and then she had meditated in my room for several hours. I thought about the time again. Six o'clock? I'd just gotten up from my nap… That was it. It must have been while I was in the bathroom before we'd gone down to the hardsuit bay. I hadn't kept track of the time then, but it was the only possible time; I knew it hadn't been that late when I'd fallen asleep on the patio.

Six o'clock…not even eight hours ago.

"We've had quite a rough time the last few days, haven't we?" she asked, chuckling nervously. "I don't think I can ever apologize enough for what you had to go through at the warehouse with Nezumi and Bruce. I can only hope that you'll forgive me for taking part in the torture. It may be true that I saved you in the end, but it shouldn't have come to that. I should've been able to do something at the very beginning, before anything bad happened. But I…I wasn't myself. I was the old me, the one who had to make sure the OMS got back to Genom no matter what. I know I explained it all to you last night after we got away, but I still…I still feel horrible about it. I am so, so sorry."

She held her head in her hands for a moment before looking up at the screen again. "Right now your friends are getting ready to head out, so I don't have a lot of time. But I'll explain to you what I was doing when you walked in on me just now. You thought I was meditating, but…I wasn't. Remember when we were talking with Nene over lunch about the OMS? I had said that it only stood to reason that Quincy would want the OMS back because he can't make another one. Well, I realized I had to back up my words somehow. So what I've been doing for the past couple hours is basically take a look inside myself. I wanted to figure out the inner workings of the OMS, just how intricate this thing is, what it has access to. And do you know what I found out? The OMS links directly with Genom's computer systems. In fact, I could access any computer system in the world that I want. I went into Genom's systems, and I found blueprints for the OMS, very, very detailed blueprints. After looking them over, I realized it would only take a few months, perhaps, to build another one, and I started wondering, if he could make another one, why try so hard to get this one back? Just so the UN doesn't have it, or ASI? Why?"

_Why indeed,_ I thought, tears running down my cheeks. _Dammit, Emi, you knew. You really did know._

"When you try to get me to the UN tonight, there's likely gonna be an ambush of some sort. And given that Quincy really could build another one, I just have the feeling that he's not going to try to get me back. I think he's going to try to kill me, to make sure that no one else has this thing. And that's part of your mission too, isn't it? If you can't return me, then kill me? It'll be exactly what he'll want, and I think that's how it's going to turn out." Her expression turned deadly serious. "He had no idea what 33Ds were capable of when he allowed them to be developed. He designed us so we would have fusion abilities, but I seriously doubt he knew my abilities would be designed so well. I doubt he expected me to fuse with the OMS so well. He had no idea at all what we could be capable of."

_What are you getting at, Emi?_

"I may not survive this last attempt, Yumeko. I'm fully aware of that, and it's exactly what Quincy is going to gun for. But like I said, he never expected me to be able to access the OMS, let alone to the degree that I've been able to. He thinks he'll be able to destroy me and then go ahead and build another OMS behind the UN's back. Well, after I'm gone and he goes to access those blueprints, guess what he's going to find? Nothing."

"What?!" I gasped.

"I destroyed them. Every last record, every last blueprint. Everything from thirty years ago when he was first having it developed, every last detail. All the testing, everything. There's going to be absolutely nothing left for him to go on if he really wants to build another one. If he really wants to, he'll have to start from scratch, and spend another ten years building another one, if he really wants to invest all that time again. In any case, by the time you see this message, he'll probably be kicking himself, wondering what on earth went wrong!"

I buried my face in my hands, shaking my head. She'd known the whole damn time she wasn't going to survive. Why the hell hadn't she told me she'd done any of this earlier?! We could've gone about our plans in an entirely different manner, and she might still be alive. What was she thinking? She didn't think the world would be better off without her, did she? Didn't she know that I, for one, appreciated having her around?! Didn't my feelings matter?!

"If I really am dead by the time you see this message, then rest assured everything will be okay," she said gently. "If the OMS is destroyed, then he can't send out Boomers at will anymore to wreak havoc on the city. Innocent people won't die. And most importantly of all…the Knight Sabers won't have to go out anymore. You'll be safe. Your mother, Sylia, Linna, and Nene will be safe. Nobody will have to worry about whether you'll be coming home at the end of the evening. When you see Craig again, you can live happily with him. That's all I want for you and the others, Yumeko. I want you to be able to live the way you want to. I know you don't want to fight Boomers forever, and hopefully now…you won't need to anymore."

She smiled. "I promised I would protect you. Hopefully, with this, I can fulfill that promise. And if you're watching this, you're probably crying your eyes out, but I don't want you to do that. Don't worry about me, or what you could have done. I'll be around, in some shape or form. Just look around…and I'll be there. Don't worry."

The screen went black, and the automated voice said, "There are no more messages."

"Damn it, Emi," I cried, laying my head on the table as I started crying. I would have fought Boomers forever if it meant she could be around, but at the same time, I probably WOULD be fighting them forever if she were still around. It would have never stopped, if Quincy had known the OMS was out there somewhere. It just wasn't fair. Even as a Boomer, she was more human than most people I knew, and I had told her as much.

_It didn't have to come to this,_ I thought. _If we had more time, we could've figured something out. Didn't you know that? I could've done something so none of this would've had to happen. Damn you, why were you so willing to die?_

Maybe she was a lot wiser than I gave her credit for. Or maybe she really was just a fatalistic person. Live happily? How was I supposed to do that, knowing a friend had died, even if it was to secure that happy life for me? It just wasn't fair at all.

Look around and she'll be there? What did she mean? She didn't seem like the type to be spiritual, even if describing a Boomer as spiritual seemed like an oxymoron. I didn't care if she was a Boomer. Look around? She may have never lied to me, but she was sure yanking my chain now. I wanted to turn and see an orange-haired girl with yellow eyes sitting on the couch, laughing. I didn't want to just imagine her there. I wanted to SEE her there.

Still…she had left me these messages, so if I wanted to hear her voice, see her face, I could just turn on my video mail and watch them. But it wasn't the same. It seemed bittersweet, to see them now only after I knew she was gone.

_I've already lost a friend before. Why did you have to go and do it to me again?_

* * *

I spent the rest of the night and most of the next day in bed, too sore to do much else. Besides the inevitable runs to the bathroom, the only thing I got out of bed for was to take a swig of milk from the carton, and to take some ibuprofen for the pain that wracked my entire frame, not that it helped all that much, but it was something. I heard the phone ring several times, and realized I hadn't called Nene when I got home like I told her I would. Still, I didn't bother to get up to answer it; the vidmail would've picked it up by the time I got to the phone, anyway.

Whenever I wasn't dozing off, I had time to think. What had driven me to take in Emi in the first place? It wasn't like she had been the first person I'd seen curled up in an alley, trying to get warm. Tokyo was full of homeless people, even if they weren't commonplace in district 6. Something about her…it had been her hair that had gotten my attention, but what else was it? The fact she was so young? So underdressed? I didn't understand. It was just strange that I had been altruistic with the one person who had what the Knight Sabers had been hired to track down. If I hadn't taken her in, it was very much true we would've wasted the next week or month trying to look for it, and by that time, unbeknownst to us, those ASI guys probably would've found her again, and then we'd probably be facing another situation entirely. Would it have been easier if I hadn't found her, hadn't taken her in? Emotionally, for me, yes, certainly. I wouldn't have had to face the torture that I did, or the pain of having to kill someone I'd started to get attached to. But at the same time, it pained me to think that. Wasn't I being selfish by thinking that? It might've been easier to kill her if I hadn't met her at all; I would've just seen her as a 33D, like Boh, and shot her on the spot.

But…she wasn't like Boh. When she had her memory, she was ruthless, but she still knew who I was, otherwise she wouldn't have snapped and killed those two bastards. It almost made me wonder, if Boh hadn't had a mission implanted in his brain, what would he have been like? I just couldn't see him as being sweet like Emi was. And of course, my memory of him was just slightly tainted; being stabbed and having him kill my best friend would tend to do that. And if she hadn't tossed Masahiro, I wouldn't have taken her to Sylia's place and had her scanned. If I had just stayed oblivious…if we'd all stayed oblivious…maybe she'd still be alive.

Maybe she annoyed me at times with her naïveté, but damn it, I preferred her that way to how she was after she'd gotten her memory back. She was actually…fun. Why did I have to insist that Sylia scan her? Couldn't I have just chalked it up to her being protective of me?

_Fuck the mission! She was a friend! Memory or no memory, Boomer or not, she was still a friend,_ I thought, sitting up in bed. I had to get out of here, clear my head. I was going to drive myself nuts if I was alone with my thoughts any longer. I had to distract myself with something.

Getting dressed, I headed downstairs and outside. The sun was low in the sky, low enough that it was behind the buildings lining the street, making it already seem like dusk in the street. I started to head for my bike, but shook my head and walked down the block instead, tucking my hands into my pockets; I didn't want my sore arm to just hang there at my side. That would've hurt more than anything. I turned and headed down an alleyway a short distance from the fast-food place I'd been on my way to when I'd first run into Emi, looking around. No one was here, but that didn't surprise me; the one I was looking for tended to hide.

I let out a low whistle, and out of the shadows came a small man, no taller than myself, wearing a grungy jacket, his face leathery from years of standing on street corners hawking his wares. "Well, well, if it ain't little Yumeko," he said cheerfully, flashing me a toothy grin. He was missing at least half his teeth, and whatever he still had wasn't gonna be fixed by any mere root canal. "I haven't seen you callin' for me in a long time. What bring you calling?"

I pulled out a 10,000-yen note. "One bottle, Neet."

"You ain't been going to another guy, have ya?"

"No, you've been the only one. I'm just…trying to get over a hump right now."

"I can see that. You look like hell." Neet took the money and slapped a small white bottle into my hand. "This'll help ya get over that hump."

I checked it to make sure the seal hadn't been broken. "So how have you been, Neet?"

"Business has been a little slow since you stopped comin' 'round. You're one of my best customers! You're the only one who prefers hydromorphone. Most others prefer Percocet or OxyContin, but hey, to each his own."

"I know what I like, and I like this a lot."

"Well, let me know when you need any more, ok? I'll always have a bottle on hand in case ya come by!"

"Thanks."

I shuffled out of the alley, pocketing the bottle as I headed to the parking lot adjacent to my apartment building. It was just something to take the edge off, something to take my mind off of things for a while. That's all it was. I leaned against my bike and took out the bottle, unscrewing the top. The bottle was almost full to the brim with the familiar pink-tinged fluid. I filled up the dropper and stuck out my tongue, ready to empty it into my mouth. But I stopped.

What the hell was I doing?!

I had been to rehab for this shit. What was I doing with a bottle of it in my hand again? I was in pain, and ibuprofen wasn't doing a good enough job. I needed something stronger. That was a good enough excuse, wasn't it? No…it was just that, an excuse. Couldn't I just pull up my big-girl pants and deal with it?

_Mom was mad at me after I told her about this, and she was still mad after I went to rehab for it. She'll be mad at me no matter what I do. Does it matter if I start taking this stuff again?_

_Of course it matters,_ another voice in my head said. _You started taking this stuff as an escape anyway, long after you didn't need it anymore for your leg. What do you think you're doing now? You're trying to escape! You're just using your physical pain as an excuse! You just want to forget you ever knew Emi! You want to forget you were tortured and raped!_

_No…I wasn't raped…it was just…_

_No? What was it then? Another molestation? Admit it, it was more than that. It wasn't just another part of your torture. It's what you'll remember the most, and that's exactly what he wanted. Of course you don't want to remember it happened. So go ahead, drink from that bottle. But your memories will still be right here when you come down from that high. You'll have to face them sooner or later. Admit it; you're gonna end up just like your mother. Always running away…_

_No! I'm not like her! I will NEVER be like her!!_

I let out a scream and tossed the bottle and the dropper aside, watching the pink fluid spill onto the asphalt. My memories were bad enough – of course I didn't want to remember getting violated by that rat – but being ruled by that bottle had been just as bad. No, it had been worse. A lifetime of misery just to obtain a few hours of peace? It wasn't worth it. I'd been through it before, what made me believe I'd want that back? What made me think it would have been a good idea?

I buried my face in my hands. "I gotta get out of here."

Not bothering to head back upstairs to get my helmet, I climbed onto my bike – with some effort – and tore out of the parking lot and down the street. What the hell had I been thinking, going back to Neet? Granted, Bert, my gun-and-drug dealer in Sacramento, couldn't be in Tokyo as well, but soon after I'd gotten back from the Olympics I had found him, the weight of the emotions I'd held back the past year finally crashing down on top of my shoulders. He had been one face I looked forward to seeing, and now that Emi was gone, I'd had no one I could really turn to that was nearby, and somehow, seeing him again just now had cheered me up. But I couldn't see him again; Cecilia had taught me that. She'd said I had to expunge everyone that helped me dabble in drugs out of my life. I thought if I just didn't call for him, it'd be as easy as that. But my experiences the past few days…they chased me right back to him.

I shook my head. No, I couldn't run back to him again, no matter how much I wanted to. I'd made a mistake this time, but at least I hadn't dumped that dropperful on my tongue. At least I stopped myself from going that far, even if I did pay for the bottle.

It didn't seem like a bar would be the best place for me to go in my current state of mind, but it was another place where I knew most of the people there. Besides, I had planned on bringing Emi here one of these days, to sing karaoke. But here I was, coming alone.

"Look who's here!" the bartender called out, only to grimace when I hobbled up to the bar and sat down. "Wow, look at you. What did you do, Yumeko?"

"Wiped out on my bike," I mumbled, which was a half-truth. I HAD wiped out, and the rest, he didn't need to know.

"You didn't show up for karaoke this weekend. I guess you were just laid up, huh?"

"Yeah, something like that." I slapped a 1,000-yen bill on the counter. "Get me the usual. I'll do some singing in a bit, but I need something to quench my thirst first."

"Sure thing." He cracked open a bottle and set it down in front of me.

I took a sip and looked around the bar. Most of the other patrons, about a dozen in total despite the fact there should've been a rush about now, had taken a quick look at me before turning away, trying to keep their focus on the baseball game on TV. I smirked and took another sip. At least I could be normal here. No one here could possibly know what I'd gone through, and that was fine with me.

"What's the score?"

The bartender turned to me, surprised. "Didn't think ya cared about baseball."

"I don't. What's the score?"

"7-3, Giants over the Tigers, top of the 7th."

"Ah…that figures…"

I finished off the bottle quickly; I must've been thirstier than I thought. I called for another beer, and in seconds I had a second one in my hand. I cracked it open and took a long, hard sip from it. What song was I going to do tonight? I hadn't thought about it, but as my mind drifted, I recalled a conversation I'd had in Sacramento with Xania that I had long forgotten about. I thought it was before our fateful spring break road trip, but I couldn't be sure…

We had gone through a bunch of CDs with old tracks from the twentieth century on them. Most of them I knew; I had a rock singer for a mom, after all. But there was one that I had actually been confused by. "I liked that last one," I said, sitting cross-legged on the floor of Xania's room, CD jewelcases strewn all about. "But it confused me."

"What about it did?" she asked, flipping through the liner notes for it.

"The main lyric. 'Losing my religion'…does that mean he's losing his faith? Didn't really go with the rest of the lyrics."

She laughed. "I thought the same damn thing, but I guess it's Southern slang that nobody really uses anymore. It's supposed to mean you're losin' it, you're flyin' off the handle."

"But that still doesn't make sense. How does losing religion equate with losing your temper?"

"Hell if I know."

I walked up to the karaoke machine and looked up the song to see if it was on there, smirking when I saw that it was. After selecting it, I sat down on the stool, setting my almost-empty beer bottle at my feet. I adjusted the microphone and said, "Sorry guys, it's another English one. There should be a translation by the English lyrics on the screen, but if not, I'm not helping you out."

I nodded my head with the beat as it came on. Judging from the looks on the patrons' faces, none of them were familiar with this song. Somehow, even if they didn't understand the lyrics very well, I knew they'd know it wasn't exactly a happy song.

"_Ohhh, life…is bigger. It's bigger than you, and you are not me,_" I sang in a mellow voice, shifting on the stool as my body began aching anew. "_The lengths that I will go to, the distance in your eyes. Oh no, I've said too much…I've set it up._"

I took a breath. "_That's me in the corner. That's me in the spotlight, losing my religion. Trying to keep up with you, and I don't know if I can do it. Oh no, I've said too much…I haven't said enough… I thought that I heard you laughing. I thought that I heard you sing. I think I thought I saw you try…_"

Emi's face was flashing in my mind the whole time as I sang. I thought I could see her sitting by the bar by my seat, clapping as I sang. But I knew I was only imagining it. I wished she was here to see me for real.

"_Every whisper, every waking hour, I'm choosing my confessions, trying to keep an eye on you like a hurt, lost and blinded fool, fool. Oh no, I've said too much…I've set it up. Consider this, consider this, the hint of the century, consider this…the slip that brought me to my knees, pale. What if all these fantasies come flailing around? Now I've said…too much…_" I took in another gulp of air. _"I thought that I heard you laughing. I thought that I heard you sing. I think I thought I saw you try…_"

During the lull in the song the other patrons started clapping, but I kept my head bowed, adjusting the microphone as I did so. It wasn't over yet, and though I heard them clapping, I couldn't really take it in. I wasn't here to be celebrated. This was for myself, not for anybody else.

"_But that was just a dream. That was just a dream… That's me in the corner. That's me in the spotlight, losing my religion. Trying to keep up with you, and I don't know if I can do it. Oh no, I've said too much…I haven't said enough. I thought that I heard you laughing. I thought that I heard you sing. Oh, I think I thought I saw you try. But that was just a dream. Try, cry, why try? That was just a dream, just a dream, just a dream…dream…_"

After the last few notes of the song played out, everyone in the bar broke out in cheers, clapping and whooping out loud. I forced a smile and adjusted the microphone again, planting one hand on the stool as I pushed myself up to my feet and climbed off the makeshift stage, grabbing my bottle on the way down. Why were they getting so excited, I wondered? It wasn't exactly a hard song; any of them could have done it if they knew how to pronounce the English words. I'd understand if maybe it was one of my mom's songs that I had sung, but it wasn't. This attention was making me feel a little self-conscious.

I polished off the second bottle as I sat back down at the bar, and the bartender gave me a look when I asked for a third bottle, but he went ahead and gave it to me anyway. "You usually don't have more than one, let alone two or three," he pointed out as I cracked open the third one and started sipping from it. "Anything wrong?"

"Nope," I said lightly. "Just celebrating life."

"Didn't sound like a happy song you were celebrating up there on the stage."

"I don't have to sing happy ones to be happy with life, do I? Just let me sing what I want." I took another sip.

"Encore, encore!" two guys shouted from the other end of the bar.

"Nope, that's it," I said. "Just the one."

"C'mon, one more! You usually do more than one!"

"I just felt like one today. That's all you're getting."

I started feeling a little giddy, and I admit it was probably the fact I was on my third bottle of beer, but it wasn't a bad feeling. It was better than being mopey and feeling sorry for myself, although I did still wish I'd brought Emi along when I still had the chance. I think I had said as much when we were waiting for Tora at the Red Baron. I was always too busy, making excuses about how I had to work, or that I was planning Nene's birthday party when I was really off fighting Boomers. I would have taken her this past weekend; I'd always come and done karaoke on the weekends, but it was too late. I could've brought her on a weeknight, just because I usually didn't have people with me. Why didn't I make an exception this one time? Damn it.

Now I WAS feeling sorry for myself.

"Celebrating life, huh?" one guy asked, walking up to me. "Don't look like it, with ya sitting at the end of the bar all by yourself."

"Celebratin' in my own way," I slurred, taking another pull from the bottle. "Don't mind me."

"Probably got dumped, huh? I've seen a lot o' girls go out and get slammed after they've gotten dumped."

"Didn't get dumped, asshole."

"Then what is it?"

I frowned and turned to look at him. "I lost a friend yesterday. I'm just trying to deal with it in my own way."

"A girl friend?"

"Yeah, a girl…" I stopped. "What are you implying?"

He grinned. "A little girl like you, you must attract a lot of girls. I know you don't like guys, so there's only one other way for that pendulum to swing, hehehe…"

"Is that a fantasy of yours? Two girls together? Sorry, I'm more asexual than anything." My bottle now empty, I grabbed the neck and smashed it against the counter, pointing the broken end at him. "Don't you dare slander my friend, you hear me?!"

"Hey, whoa!" He jumped back, hands in front of him as I shoved my stool aside and jabbed the bottle at him. "What the hell?!"

"My friend DIED for me, you son of a bitch! I'm not about to let you sully her good name for the sake of a bad joke!!"

"I didn't DO anything!!"

"You better! Or you're gonna get your tongue cut out of your mouth!!" I lunged at him, but two other guys jumped to hold me back. I kicked and yelled at them. "Leggo! Leggo!! He insulted my friend!!"

The bartender came out from behind the bar and crossed his arms. "You better get out of here, Yumeko. I think you had two too many drinks. Get out of here."

I relaxed, pulling my arms out from the other guys' grips. "Leggo, I can let myself out." I tossed the broken bottle aside. "Fine. I'll go. But tell that prick there to keep his damn mouth shut or I'll come back and cut his lips off with my pocketknife."

"Just go."

"I'm goin'!"

The hot summer air hit me as I left the bar; it was even hotter out here than it was inside, and I brushed my bangs out of my face as I limped towards my bike. But before I could get very far, I heard a voice behind me.

"I figured you'd be here."

I turned around, and standing by the entrance to the bar was Mom, with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall with a smirk on her face. "What're you doing here?" I asked hoarsely. "I don't remember inviting you."

"Linna told me you came here often after work for a beer," she said. "Thought I'd take my chances after I stopped by your apartment and didn't get an answer at the door."

"So what do you want? I'm a little drunk right now."

"I see that. I just figured we could have a chat. You look like you could use someone to talk to. How about it?"

"I don't want to talk. I'm just gonna go home and sleep it off."

"You can't just sleep off last night, or the two days before that. I've tried it, trust me, it doesn't work." She smiled. "Walk with me."

I stood there for a moment, looking at her, trying to scan for any ulterior motive behind this sudden act of kindness, but I couldn't detect any, at least not through my beer goggles. I just nodded, and we started walking down the street together, going slowly as I still had a limp from my leg injury the night before, as well as the residual soreness everywhere else.

"How's your arm?" she asked.

"It's fine," I said, rubbing it as if on cue. "As long as I don't move it too much. Still hurts like a mad bastard, but if I take care of it, it should be fine."

"Good, good. I was getting worried after you snuck out of Sylia's place last night. Thought you might go do something stupid."

"Like look for my dealer? I did."

She stopped and looked at me. "Yume…" she started, her face already turning red from anger.

I put up a hand to stop her. "I did, before I came here. But I tossed it out."

"You…threw away the bottle?"

"Yeah. I almost took some, but then I threw away the bottle. Decided it wasn't…worth it. Wasn't worth it to start heading down that road again. I've already messed up my life once. I…never want to go through that again, or put you through that again. I'm sorry." I sighed. "Just let it go, please. I know you're still mad about it, but I just wish you'd get over it."

"I won't," she admitted nonchalantly. "I won't get over it. You're my daughter, and I'd always thought I raised you better than that. But…I do understand it. I don't condone it, but I do understand it. And I forgive you."

"You forgive me?"

"Yes. When I get mad and blow up at you, it's…really me blowing up at myself. It's not directed at you. I know you were just trying to cope, and I tried certain methods of coping after my boyfriend in the biker gang died. But you need to know…that I AM proud of you for seeking help. I am."

"Why are you saying all this now?" I asked, starting to choke up. I had been waiting for this for so long. "We've been at each other's throats for almost the past year because of it. Why now?"

"We're both Asagiris, Yume. We're pigheaded and stubborn. We hate to admit we're wrong, and that's just when we're arguing with OTHER people. Pit two of those people against each other and everything's just gonna go to hell."

"At least we can admit we're stubborn," I joked.

We turned a corner, heading down a quieter street, which wasn't saying much considering this was always a busy area of town. "How are you doing?" she asked.

"Regarding…?"

"Everything."

"About as good as I could be, I suppose, which isn't well. Emi left a few messages on my phone over the last week, including one from yesterday, just before we left."

Mom gave me a surprised look. "Oh?"

I explained to her what had been on the last message Emi had left me, about how she had expected to die but that I shouldn't worry about it, because she had destroyed the plans for the OMS and any research that had been done while the original one was being developed. I included the part about her saying we wouldn't have to fight anymore, which made her raise an eyebrow.

"I guess the Boomers from last night had the same mission we did," she muttered. "Return her or kill her."

"So me killing her was exactly what Quincy wanted," I moaned. "But still…"

"Still," she interjected, "she does have a point. With no OMS, he can't send out Boomers anymore unless he individually programs each one, but that'd be a waste of time if he wants to send one on a test run right away."

"Right…"

"That'd be nice," she said, letting out a low whistle. "Being able to retire, again? That'd be just super. We're all getting too old for this shit anyway, and you're too YOUNG for this shit."

"You were seventeen when you joined," I pointed out.

"And I'm forty-four now. Don't remind me," she groaned. "We were all way past our physical prime when Sylia had us jump into battle again. That's one of the main reasons she recruited you, because you WERE in your prime. You're still in your prime. But I don't want you spending the best years of your life having to kick Boomer ass. If we really can retire because of what Emi did…I'm all for it, not just for me, but for you. The four years we spent fighting before we retired the first time, we went through a lot, and we were still kids, basically. I mean, Sylia was only about twenty-one herself when she recruited us. We grew up together, pretty much. And having to do it all again in our early forties…heh." She grinned and shook her head. "We knew what to do, but our bodies weren't quite as up to the task, if you know what I mean. You were sixteen when you first donned the purple suit, and what's it been, just about three years now? You've been through…SO much more than any of us went through in our first run. I wish I could take it back and make you a normal teenager again. But I can't."

"I'm proud of it, though," I said, interrupting her. "I did regret it, more than once, joining the Knight Sabers. But I guess you regretted it too at one point or another. I did get hurt, and I did almost lose my leg at the summit. I did lose Michiko. But…I think we accomplished a lot too. I just hope I wasn't more of a liability than a help. I know that happened a lot, but I've learned. I think we all learned a lot."

"We're always learning. We've gotta keep up with the technology Genom puts out, or we're gonna get killed. Thankfully Sylia's got the skills to do that."

"Are you proud of me, Mom?"

"Hmm?"

"I said, are you proud of me?"

I remember how surprised, and indeed, rattled I had been when Bert had told me after our raid on DYNETECH that he was proud of me and that I had every right to call myself a Knight Saber. I had never heard that from anybody, not my aunts or my mom. I never asked to be praised, and hearing it from Bert for the first time…I hadn't known how to react. He had turned and left after saying that, leaving me tongue-tied, stupefied.

"Of course I'm proud of you. Why are you asking?"

"Because I…" I wiped away the tears that now freely coursed down my cheeks. "There were so many times I felt like a burden. So many times I…I thought it would have been better if I had died at the summit, because I know you guys…put your asses on the line for me so many times. I felt like I was in the way. I felt like everyone would have been better off if I just disappeared."

Mom hugged me. "Yume…you were never in the way. And don't ever think we would've been better off if you'd died. Saving each others' asses, that's just part of what we do. We're friends and teammates; we wouldn't do anything else. You think I'd let you hang out to dry? Like hell. You were never a burden. And I was always proud of you. Every single battle. I'd think, wow, that's my little girl killing Boomers. I was proud then, and I'm proud now. Don't ever doubt that."

"You swear?"

"Like a sailor."

I let out a laugh and hugged her back, squeezing tight. I couldn't remember the last time we'd hugged like this, or talked like this. It had been a long time coming, and I was glad we were on good terms now. I'd thought I didn't care if Mom was pissed off at me, but it had affected me more than I myself knew.

"Sylia told me to give you this," she said, pulling out a slip of paper from her jeans pocket. She put it in my hand, and I unfolded it and took a look. It was a string of numbers, with a smaller number below it.

"What's this?" I asked.

"It's an account number and PIN for the Bank of Tokyo. Sylia and I set it up soon after the Sabers started it up again."

I was confused. "Is this the account our fees get deposited into?"

She laughed. "No, no. We set it up for you."

"For…me? Why? I told Sylia to keep my part of whatever fee we charged. My suit or Monsoon is always needing something done to it—"

"Not all the time. Yeah, she'll take part of it and use it for repairs, but whatever's left over from your share, she'll deposit into that account."

"She's been doing this for the past three years?"

"Yup."

"But why? And why tell me this now?"

"She figured there was probably enough in there by now that you could use it for something. And since apparently we have the chance to retire…" She shrugged and grinned. "Maybe you could move out of that dinky apartment of yours and find some real digs. Maybe do something with that special spot of yours."

"Who told you about that?!" I barked, making her jump and laugh. "I told Linna to not tell anybody!!"

"Well, she did. I guess you go up there a lot when you just want time to think or something, huh? Sounds like a plan to me. Not a whole lot of quiet places you can go to in Tokyo, after all. Did you ever think about moving out there?"

I looked down at the numbers on the paper again, then looked back up at her. "S-sure," I said, "but that'd make it impossible to get into town in time to help kill Boomers. I always blew it off as a pipe dream. I can barely get by as it is, let alone save for something like that."

"Well, the amount in that account should help a bit, then."

"…How much is IN this account, Mom?" I asked flatly. I couldn't imagine it'd be all that much. I did have a tendency to be reckless, after all.

"I don't know the exact amount Sylia quoted me, but I think she said somewhere around two-hundred-million yen."

I sputtered and crushed the paper in my hand. "T-two…hundred…? You're kidding me!!"

"Ok, I threw in my share too," she admitted with a shrug. "So what? That should be enough to do something with."

"But…but it's too much!!"

"Just 'cause you've never had that much at your personal disposal before," she said. "But don't let Linna know about it, or she'll dump it all in the stock market and lose it!"

I had to let out a laugh at that. Linna probably would!

"So? Any plans for that money?"

I had to digest this. Two hundred million yen? That was more than I ever thought I'd have. It was true, Mom was a rock star and had tons and tons of money, but she didn't flaunt it. She gave most of it to charity and causes she cared about. She always said she'd never be able to spend that much money on herself, so why keep it? She probably still had more than enough to live on the rest of her life. But me? What could I use this money for? If it was true that we could retire, then that certainly opened up a lot of possibilities.

I did have a dream. Even this amount of money may not have been enough to finance it, but it could be a start.

I grinned. "You know what? I think I do have a plan for this."

* * *

Crisp, brown leaves fell from the trees as I drove up the hill outside Minobu, the sun in the almost-cloudless sky above me casting its rays down. Despite it being October, it had been so warm lately I figured it was probably one of those times you could call it an 'Indian summer'. Indeed, under my jacket I wore a sleeveless tee, and I'd had to lather on sunscreen so I wouldn't burn. My hair, tied back in its usual braid, beat against my back as I found myself caught in a headwind.

Today, unlike previous times, this was not a time when I just wanted to be alone for a bit. No, today, I was checking on the progress of a little project that was underway at what was my special spot. As I got to the top of the hill, I saw the clearing that I usually hung out at, but instead of it just being a clearing, occupying part of that spot was the framing of what was going to be a house. The siding was new – that hadn't been up the last time I had visited, several days ago – and I could make out two men on the roof, nailing tiles down. I just smiled as I brought the bike to a halt and climbed off, pulling off my helmet.

"How's it going?" I yelled to the men on the roof.

"Great!" one of them yelled back. "We just started on the tiling about an hour ago, but we should have it done by the end of the day."

"You really got the siding up quick! I wasn't expecting that to be done so quick!"

"Sylia hired us because we ARE quick!" he laughed.

I really had to hand it to Sylia. She was able to find a contracting company for me that didn't use Boomers, which was what I had requested, and after checking several out, she was able to find a reputable one that not only was fast, but did some of the highest-quality work around. I pulled out a bag lunch from the side compartment of my bike and sat down in the grass nearby, pulling out a bento box from the bag. It was something I had only discovered recently, and they usually offered much healthier fare than hamburger places offered, and plus they were cheap, which was a big plus for me. I could imagine Mom laughing at me for having such an old-fashioned lunch, but I didn't care.

A green car pulled up beside my bike, and when I turned to look to see whose it was, I didn't have to look for long; I saw a black-haired girl step out, her own lunch in hand, waving hello. "Linna!" I exclaimed, waving her over. "What're you doing here?"

"Thought I'd check up on the progress of your house," she said, sitting down next to me.

"Good timing, I just got here myself." I took a bite of one of the rice balls.

"Oh my God, is that a bento?!" she remarked, laughing. "I didn't think I'd see you with one of those! You're such a girl of the '50's!"

"What's wrong with the traditional stuff? This is healthy."

"It is, it is. It's just…odd to see you of all people—"

"Okay, can it."

"I'm not making fun!" She pulled out a small salad and began eating. "Everyone should go back to bentos. People are getting so fat these days, and even the girls in the classes at the Beehive leave right away to pack back on all the calories they just burned. Speaking of which..." She turned to me. "How's the new gym coming along?"

"It should be ready next month, about the same time as the house. Thanks for helping me with that business loan, by the way. Most of that money in that account went towards buying this land and the stuff for the house. I never would've been able to afford it otherwise."

She shrugged. "Stuff is expensive nowadays. And hopefully it'll do well enough that you'll be able to pay that off in no time. So what're you going to use the new gym for?"

I smiled and shoved the rest of the rice ball in my mouth. "I'm gonna…" I swallowed. "I'm gonna train gymnasts there. I went to the Olympics, and I want to help give other girls the opportunity to do the same."

"Don't you want to go again?"

"Sure I do!"

"I ask because you just might be training your future rivals," she said with a naughty grin. "I hope you know that."

"I do, but I still want to give girls that chance. This gym may not be in the heart of Tokyo, but I think that'll actually be an advantage. These girls won't have to worry about the Tokyo smog clogging up their lungs when they do their workouts."

"That's true." She finished her salad. "Need help with a name for the gym? I could help you think of something."

"A quirky name? I dunno. I haven't really thought about it yet. I can't have anything with 'bee' in it, 'cause it's not gonna be a real fitness bee. It's gonna be a gymnastics gym in every sense of the word. I need something that'll convey that."

"Well, if you need me, I have about a million suggestions."

"I know you do."

After I finished my lunch, I set the bento back in the bag and laid back in the grass, staring up at the sky with my arms spread out on either side of me. "It's nice here, isn't it?" I breathed, taking in a gulp of fresh air.

"Yup." She laid back with me. "Maybe I should ask Sylia for money so I can move out here too!" she laughed.

"But if Boomers really DO come out again then the Sabers will really be screwed!" I joked.

"It's been three months since any came out. I don't want to jinx us, but I think we might actually be okay. Emi really did keep us from having to go out again."

"Yeah…" I let out a sigh. "Do you think it'll last?"

"Like I said, don't wanna jinx us, but I hope so."

"Me too. I guess normal life isn't so bad, is it?"

"Nah. Being a hero is overrated."

I grinned. "No, I don't think so. Emi is a hero in every sense of the word. She saved Tokyo…and she saved us."

"Normal life is adventurous enough for me."

"Yeah. I might actually agree with you on that one…"

A time when we didn't have to go out and fight Boomers… It had been three years since the Knight Sabers had reappeared, and back then I was a somewhat naïve sixteen-year-old girl, who had only heard of the Sabers through stories I had heard as a child. Seeing them in person was a conflicting feeling; sure it was awesome, but knowing they consisted of my mother and my aunts…it was awesome and strange at the same time. Over the past three years we had been through a lot together, and I had been forced to grow up, from a sixteen-year-old who felt she could do anything to a nineteen-year-old who was jaded from knowing she couldn't do everything, scarred on the inside and outside, knowing now what true loss was, and meant.

Becoming a Knight Saber had meant a baptism by fire, in terms of growing up. I'd done it a lot faster than I should have, than anybody should have. I had seen things that nobody outside of a warzone should have ever seen. In many ways, I was far older than my nineteen years, and in others, I was definitely my age. If the Knight Sabers really could retire, then maybe I would finally, again, be able to know what a normal life was like, be able to age as I was supposed to without being forced to do so any more than I already had.

I couldn't undo what I had seen, what I had done, what I had experienced over the past three years of my life. The only thing I could do was learn from them. Trying to repress them, forget them…I had learned the hard way that was the worst thing to try to do; I had suffered greatly for it, but I knew that now. As painful as remembering certain pieces of your past is, trying to forget it is even more so.

My experiences from three months ago…I had nightmares from them every now and then. I couldn't stand rain very much, but I was learning to deal with it again, or at least tolerate it; it wasn't something I had any control over, after all. I was just getting to the point where people could come up behind me and touch me and I wouldn't jump and try to deck them in fear that they were one of the two bastards from ASI.

As for the head ASI bastard Emi had mentioned…Isamu…nobody heard anything from him after that. Nothing on the news or anything. Sylia had guessed that either he'd gone underground to hide from Quincy, or that Quincy had already taken care of him. I didn't care. The OMS was gone, so whatever he had planned to do, he couldn't do anyway. And it couldn't be rebuilt, thanks to Emi's hacking into the Genom systems. Maybe destroying her and the OMS had been the best thing to do, after all. It didn't mean that I liked it, and of course I didn't, but at the same time, I couldn't help but be proud of her for what she'd done. Even if the rest of Tokyo outside of the Knight Sabers would never know her name, I would. And it was enough. She really was a hero in my eyes. I could never have pulled off what she had done. I think only someone like her could have done it. Done in by one of their own creations…if that wasn't poetic justice, I didn't know what was.

I kinda missed going out to kill Boomers, but right now, I couldn't have cared less if we didn't have to go out ever again. Linna was right. Normal life was adventurous enough for anybody. You didn't need to be a superhero or anything like that for it to be exciting.

I supposed that for the first time in three years, I was going to find out just how exciting it could be.


End file.
